Suspension of Skyway toll rate hike belittled

The deferment of another toll rate hike at the Skyway system by two weeks is too short a reprieve for consumers reeling from the already rocketing cost of living, opposition Senator Teresa Aquino Oreta said.

Oreta called on the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) to follow the example set by the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System in giving Filipinos a breather by indefinitely suspending another round of water rate adjustment.

Oreta said Malacañang should step in by asking Skyway officials to freeze the toll rate increase and order the TRB to review the toll rate hike.

Meanwhile, a lawyer of the Movement for Responsible Enterprise (MORE), which has been at the forefront of the fight against public utility rate increases, admitted that he and his colleagues are "waging a lonely battle."

"I have to admit, this seems to be a lost cause already," lawyer Efren Carag told The STAR.

Carag made the admission after a hearing held by the TRB yesterday afternoon, which was also attended by MORE president Ray Junia.

The TRB has been conducting hearings on MORE and other groups’ motion to reconsider the TRB’s resolution granting Skyway manager Citra-Metro Manila Tollways Corp. (CMMTC) a two-stage provisional toll rate increase on Nov. 9, 2001.

"We got a zero score in all our efforts," Carag said, noting that the groups failed to get a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the increase from the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court.

Carag said the groups are mainly opposing the average increase of P9 to P11 in the toll at the at-grade level of the Skyway. "A witness from the South Luzon Bus Operators told the TRB during the hearing that the increase last January has practically dealt a death blow to their business. What more with the second stage of the provisional increase?" Carag said. – Nikko Dizon