PUJ drivers oppose fare hike

A public utility jeepney (PUJ) drivers’ group and two concerned operators have asked the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to junk a pending petition seeking a 50-centavo increase in transport fare.

In two separate Motions to Dismiss, the Makati Jeepney Operators and Drivers (MJODA) and operators Antonio Silvestre and Manuel Tiburcio said there was still no need to adjust transport fares.

"The current increase in the price of crude oil plays little if no adverse effect at all to the jeepney operators and drivers; therefore, such increase does not necessitate a drastic increase in the transport fare," said MJODA chairman Orlando Marquez Sr.

Oil firms increased their prices by 50 centavos last April, prompting the jeepney group Philippine Confederation of Drivers Organizations-Alliance of Concerned Transport Organizations (PCDO-ACTO) to seek a fare hike.

The PCDO-ACTO has filed a petition with the LTFRB, asking that the minimum fare be increased to P4.50 from P4.

The group complained that with the 50-centavo hike in fuel price per liter, they are losing P15 daily. It is estimated that a jeepney driver consumes 30 liters of diesel a day.

According to Silvestre and Tiburcio in their joint opposition, the PCDO-ACTO’s "bases in filing the petition are not the proper bases for the grant of any fare rate increase."

Silvestre and Tiburcio listed their addresses as Villamor street, Bacood, Sta. Mesa, Manila and Zaragoza street, Tondo, Manila, respectively. They own jeepneys that ply the Bacood-Quiapo; Boni-Stop and Shop and Pier South-Divisoria routes.

"We are both commuters and public utility jeepney operators (and we) humbly pray that an order be issued dismissing the (PCDO-ACTO) petition," the two said.

In his petition, Marquez expressed fear that any increase in transport fare "will result in a chain reaction of increases in the prices of basic commodities." – Sheila Crisostomo