It’s Metro taxpayers who subsidize LRT, MRT, says Recto

MANILA, Philippines—Senator Ralph Recto sought to refute  Transportation and Communications Secretary Mar Roxas’ argument that a fare increase in Metro Manila’s mass transit system was in order, partly, to save taxpayers in the provinces from having to contribute to the subsidy.

Roxas had said earlier that it was not fair to continue the government subsidy on fares on  the Light Rail Transit  and Metro Rail Transit train lines, considering that the money was also sourced from taxes collected in the provinces.

But Recto, chairman of the ways and means committee, clarified that “not one” taxpayer in the province was shelling out money for the subsidy, which amounts to around P40 per passenger per ride.

“No one in the province like in Batanes, Batangas or in Capiz, Tarlac and even in Tawi-Tawi is subsidizing a rider in Metro Manila,” he said in a statement.

Recto said that the subsidy on LRT and MRT fares was sourced mainly from taxes collected in Metro Manila, not in the provinces.

In 2010 alone, he said, taxes from the cities of Quezon, Makati and Caloocan made up P281.8 billion of the total P337-billion collection of the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s from 19 regions.

Recto said Quezon City’s P75.8-billion collection  easily dwarfed the combined P56.2-billion tax revenues from Bicol to Tawi-Tawi.

“In fact, it’s Metro Manila that is subsidizing the P39.4-billion CCT (conditional cash transfer) program that would benefit most of the provinces,” he added, referring to the Aquino administration’s massive dole-out program.

Recto urged the government to delay the implementation of fare increases, given the relatively high inflation rate and slow economic growth in the last quarter. The latter was blamed on the administration’s apparently slow spending.

“We are squeezing the people in Metro Manila—the middle class, particularly the professionals, office workers and students,” he said.

“I’m not against raising the fares but there should be an improvement first in the service like additional rolling stocks or coaches. Caving in to a fare increase now would be tantamount to rewarding inefficiency.”