In a press conference, Jaime Moncada, president of the Alyansa sa Nagkahiusang Drayber-Operator Alang sa Reporma, said the LTFRB regional office has informed them in a letter that it will hear and consider their call for a P1 provisional fare increase.
In his letter dated March 11, LTFRB regional director Benito Dy-Cezar Jr. said the board will hear the fare hike petitions on March 16.
Cezar said the proposal for the grant of a P1 provisional fare increase is well taken and that there is still a need to flesh out the proposal with a formula or system.
Further, Cezar said the nationwide strike which was scheduled last Tuesday, spearheaded by the Manila Transport Group, fizzled out due to the following concessions which the LTFRB granted after intense negotiations with DOTC officials:
• Reduction by P1 of the price of diesel fuel for all public utility vehicles;
• Reinstatement of Memorandum Circular No. 91-014 allowing public utility vehicles (PUVs) to ply out of line for emergency and personal or family use; and
• Easing up of the six-month period for the filing of applications on the extension of expired licenses.
Moncada said that with the reinstatement of Memorandum Circular No. 91-014, PUV owners will no longer get a permit from the LTFRB in cases like emergency and personal or family use. For every particular purpose applied for, a permit costs P118.
As for the six-month grace period in renewing franchises, Moncada said the LTFRB earlier issued a memorandum stating that when a franchise is not renewed on time, the agency will no longer allow its renewal, not even when it’s only a day delayed.
At present, PUV operators are granted a six-month grace period within which they can renew their franchise.
ANDAR and the Southern Cebu Operators and Drivers Association Inc. filed a joint petition last Feb. 9 seeking a minimum P1 fare hike for jeepneys. — Freeman News Service