But only by 50 centavos Group oks PUJ fare reduction

CEBU, Philippines - While it expressed no opposition to the petition seeking to lower public utility jeepney and taxi fares, a transport association in Cebu said it could only afford to reduce the PUJ minimum fare by 50 centavos.

Ryan Benjamin Yu, chairman of the Cebu Integrated Transport Service Multi-purpose Cooperative, told The FREEMAN that they can only afford to reduce the minimum PUJ fare to P7 from the current P7.50.

“The P1.50 jeepney fare reduction is way too much. We can only afford to reduce by 50 centavos,” said Yu, also the chairman of the Cebu Confederation of Transport Operators and Drivers Association Inc.

CCTODAI is the mother organization of all the transport associations in Cebu. Its members include jeepneys, taxis, buses, mini-buses and trucking groups.

Yu explained that from 2003 to 2004, the level of diesel was pegged between P25 and P28 per liter and the minimum fare was P6.

But as of now, price of diesel is still more than P39 per liter.

Yu said CITRASCO will not oppose the petition to reduce the taxi flag down rate from P40 to P30.

MCTOA Says No

However, Richard Cabucos, president of the Metro Cebu Taxi Operators Association, strongly opposed the petition.

“Dili mi mosugot nga reduce ang pletihan sa taxi. Mosupak gyud mi ana (We don’t want to reduce the taxi fare. We will oppose the petition),” Cabucos said.

He explained that even if the prices of diesel or auto-liquefied petroleum gas are reduced, there are other factors such as the high prices of spare parts, batteries, tires, among others.

“Mayman og lana ra ang atong basehan. Ang presyo sa lana, sa baterya ug uban pa mahal man lang gihapon (We do not based only on the prices of fuel. Prices of batteries and others are still high),” Cabucos said.

He said that unlike jeepneys, taxi units are changed every five to seven years to ensure that they are in good running condition.

“Para sad ni sa atong mga turista nga nindot ang atong mga taxi. Besides, wala namo gipamugos ang among sakyanan (Our taxi units are also for the tourists. Besides, we do not force the public to ride). Those who ride the taxi are only those who can afford,” Cabucos added.

The petitions to reduce the taxi and jeepney fares, including the one seeking to decrease the PUJ minimum fare by P1.50, are scheduled for a public hearing on July 5.

Manuel Iway, a board member of the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board, said they are supposed to come up with a decision on the taxi fare reduction petition last Friday.

“But the taxi operators have requested for a public hearing. We are scheduling it for July 5,” Iway told The FREEMAN.

In Cebu, the Consumer Rights and Economic Welfare filed a petition to reduce the minimum jeepney fare from P7.50 to P6 due to the decreasing fuel prices.

Automatic Reduction

In a press statement, senatorial aspirant and Valenzuela City Mayor Sherwin Gatchalian said the LTFRB should automatically reduce the fare once fuel prices are down instead of waiting for a petition to be filed.

Gatchalian said that it is the job of LTFRB to immediately decide to be fair to the riding public.

He contended that the fare issue is a big concern among the workers, especially those receiving below the minimum wage.

“Malaking isyu ang fare lalo na sa mga manggagawa natin. Kaya dapat kung bumaba yung presyo ng fuel, dapat ganoon din ang mangyari sa fare (The fare is a big issue among our workers. So if fuel price decreases, the fare should also reduced),” Gatchalian said.

Gatchalian, the vice president of League of Cities of the Philippines, also urged the executive and legislative branches of government to discuss the Oil Deregulation Law despite the series of oil price rollbacks.

Senator Chiz Escudero, for his part, is pushing for a comprehensive review of the law to strengthen the powers of the Department of Finance and the Department of Justice in monitoring and addressing oil price hikes.

Escudero said the law was enacted to equip the DOE with enough powers to monitor the pump prices and ensure reasonable pricing on the basis of prevailing inventory and market price set by oil companies and dealers.

“But those seem to be just lip service for any oil price increase implemented is faster than lightning. Oil companies can easily raise oil prices without having to seek government’s consent. But the reverse is very glaring when decrease in oil is implemented by oil companies and retailers,” the senator said.

Escudero urged his colleagues to prioritize the review of law. — /LPM (FREEMAN)