Jeep group seeks 50¢ fare hike

MANILA, Philippines - Transport group Pasang Masda yesterday called on the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to increase the minimum fare for passenger jeepneys from the current P7 to P7.50 to help them cope with the continuing increase in the price of petroleum products.

Roberto Martin, president of Pasang Masda, said the group filed a motion to revert to a minimum fare of P7.50 for the first four kilometers.

He said the drivers and operators would discuss plans for staging a strike if LTFRB Chairman Nelson Laluces ignored their appeal.

“We’ll give them this week for Chairman Laluces to meet with us. Last week I asked for an urgent meeting with him. We have to talk about what we discussed last December,” Martin said as he demanded a return to the minimum fare of P7.50.

Pasang Masda has 31,000 members in Metro Manila. Martin said the group has 120,000 members nationwide.

Martin said in 2008, when the price of diesel went down to just P25 per liter, the group voluntarily lowered the minimum jeepney fare from P7.50 to P7.

He said that LTFRB records showed that the jeepney drivers and operators forged an agreement with the LTFRB that once the price of diesel goes up to at least P35 a liter, the agency would approve the increase in minimum fare to P7.50.

He said the average price of diesel in the country today is P38.75.

Martin said Pasang Masda and Laluces forged the agreement during a meeting last December.

He said the current price of diesel is too much for the jeepney drivers and operators.

Pasang Masada lawyer Ferdinand Topacio said the rally held yesterday at Plaza Salamanca in Manila dubbed “People’s Movement for Justice” was organized by Pasang Masda, Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, People’s Liberation Movement to “protest the state of injustice in our country.”

Topacio said Pasang Masda is also a victim of economic injustice because the Supreme Court has also been dismissing petitions to prevent the big oil companies from raising the prices of petroleum products.

He said these were decided by the Court based on technicalities and not on the merits of the case.

Topacio said the SC had issued an indefinite temporary restraining order on the order of Manila Regional Trial Court Judge Silvino Pampilo Jr. to compel the Big 3 Oil Companies — Shell, Petron, and Chevron — to open their books to justify their oil price increases.

“We compel the oil companies to open their books because we feel and this is supported by evidence presented by us, and including the testimony of Senator Ralph Recto who testified in open court, that there is P8 overprice per liter in petroleum products in the country, over and above the benchmark prices of Dubai crude oil or Singapore supplied crude oil,” said Topacio.