NEDA chief Pernia: Fresh fare hikes may fan inflation
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines' chief socioeconomic planner on Thursday warned that the latest round of fare hikes may fan inflation, which is now among the hottest in Asia.
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, or LTFRB, granted Thursday morning a provisional one-peso hike in bus fares for the first five kilometers. Bus commuters will be charged another P0.15 for every succeeding kilometer.
The LTFRB’s new order came as Filipino commuters brace for a P10 jeepney fare. Jeepney operators and transport groups sought the fare increase due to higher fuel prices.
In a media interview, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said the recently approved fare increases may have inflationary impact.
Pernia also said the fare adjustments granted by transport regulators were higher than what economic planners had expected.
He said that anything that increases prices increases inflation. But he said they have yet to review the inflationary impact of the higher-than-expected fare hike @bworldph
— Elijah Tubayan (@elijahtubayan) October 18, 2018
Inflation hit a new nine-year high of 6.7 percent in September, amid food supply problems, a weak currency, and surge in price of oil in the international market, which translated to higher local pump prices.
Transport costs spiked 8 percent last month from 6 percent a year ago.
Year-to-date, gasoline price jumped P10.55/liter, while prices of diesel and kerosene increased P11.50/liter and P10.50/liter, respectively. — with a report from BusinessWorld
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