Piston: 50¢ fare hike not enough

MANILA, Philippines - Leaders of the militant transport group Pagkakaisa ng Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide (Piston) complained yesterday that the 50-centavo jeepney fare hike is not enough and bared plans to seek a P1 fare increase.

George San Mateo, Piston president, said the 50-centavo increase in minimum fare for jeepneys, which the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) approved last Tuesday, is inadequate, considering the high prices of diesel and unleaded gasoline.

He said Piston might be forced to file another petition with the LTFRB seeking a P1 fare hike in view of Malacañang’s refusal to scrap the 12 percent value added tax (VAT) on petroleum products, and for the government to take action against oil companies for their alleged overpricing of oil products.

“We are forced to do this because of the continued refusal of P-Noy (President Aquino) to remove the VAT on oil and scrap the Oil Deregulation Law,” San Mateo said.

He said the P1 jeepney fare hike would help drivers feed their families properly.

San Mateo said if the 12 percent VAT on oil products was scrapped, this would result in the immediate reduction in the pump price per liter of diesel by P6, unleaded gasoline by P7, and auto liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by P4.

San Mateo said Piston would intensify their protest action in the coming weeks despite the LTFRB’s approval of the 50-centavo fare hike.

Transport groups in Zamboanga City, likewise, said the 50-centavo fare increase is unacceptable since it would not solve the continued increase in fuel prices.

Eduardo Mingala, president of the Federation of Land Transportation of Zamboanga (FELTRANZ), said the meager fare increase would only trigger an increase in the prices of basic commodities.

“We were not expecting the 50 centavos additional increase in fare because what we were asking was the scrapping of the oil deregulation law and the reduction of VAT (value-added tax) on oil,” Mingala said. Mingala said the Pantawid Pasada, the government’s fuel subsidy for public transport operators, will not solve the problem.

The Department of Energy (DOE) announced that the reloaded Pantawid Pasada cards for jeepney and tricycle drivers were already available.

The program serves to cushion the impact of high fuel prices, particularly on public utility jeepneys. Another transport group in Cagayan de Oro plans to stage a protest action against the lack of sincerity of the Aquino administration to address the concerns of the sector.

The Solidarity of Transport in Region X (Starex) said they would lead a multi-sectoral demonstration to pressure the government to grant their demands.

Starex spokesman Santos Hinosolango said the drivers prefer a fare increase of 50 centavos but they still want the government to consider their proposal for a big-time rollback, the repeal of the Oil Deregulation Law and the 12 percent value added tax (VAT) on petroleum products. Hinosolango said they would be tapping other sectors such as workers, urban poor, youth, women, and farmers to join them. With Roel Pareño, Jigger Jerusalem