MANILA, Philippines — A transport group leader over the weekend said that it was Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board Chairman Teofilo Guadiz III who advised them to submit a formal letter for the P2 increase in minimum fare, after the LTFRB said it could not act on an unverified petition.
In a radio interview, Liga ng Transportasyon at mga Operator sa Pilipinas (LTOP) national president Lando Marquez noted that during a meeting with transport groups, Guadiz said that a simple letter would be enough to request for a fare increase through Memorandum Circular 2019-035.
“Before we drafted the letter, we talked to Chairman Guadiz since he is a lawyer. He told us what we need to do, and he said we need to submit a request letter despite … a memorandum circular on the automatic adjustment
formula. We filed the letter on Friday and we will see what will be the reaction of the Board,” Marquez said.
Marquez and three other transport group leaders asked to increase the minimum fare to P14 for public utility jeepneys, from the current P12, as fuel prices continue to increase.
Aside from LTOP, the fare increase petition was filed by the Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide, STOP and Go, and the Federation of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines.
“It was Chairman Guadiz who gave us the instruction and we also informed Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista. So, it is up to them to acknowledge what they said, if not, we can say that they do not honor what they committed,” Marquez added.
He maintained that under Section 4 of Memorandum Circular 2019-035, there is no need to file a formal petition for fare hike.
“If we will file a formal petition, we will start from the beginning and we need to submit many documents. If that happens, aanhin pa ang damo, kung patay na ang kabayo,” Marquez said.
He said that under Memorandum Circular 2019-035, the LTFRB can adjust the fare if a certain level of fuel increase is reached.
“The memorandum circular provides for an automatic fare adjustment formula. There is a price ceiling so that in case the diesel prices go down, the fare will also go down,” Marquez added.
Marquez said that the transport groups will await the response of the LTFRB before deciding on their next move.
“We will go to the office of Chairman Guadiz to determine his reaction, and after that we will decide. We are not asking too much as the P2 fare increase only covers the first kilometers. We did not ask for additional fare for succeeding kilometers. If the Board approves additional P1 fare increase, we will accept it,” he noted.
Marquez said that Pangkalahatang Sanggunian Manila & Suburb Drivers Association Nationwide, Inc. (Pasang-Masda) national president Roberto Martin did not join the P2 fare hike petition, instead filing the proposed “surcharge fare” during rush hours in Metro Manila to a uniform P1.
“Before we submitted the letter, Ka Obet (Martin) and I talked and it was agreed that we will file the P2 fare increase since he already filed the P1 surcharge fare for the three rush hours,” Marquez said.
Based on the petition of Pasang-Masda, the P1 surcharge fare will be implemented during rush hours, from 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. and between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Another wave of price increases in fuel products is seen to take effect on Tuesday, Aug. 15. Diesel may go up by P1.40 to P1.60 per liter and gasoline, by P1.70 to P1.90 per liter.