A public hearing will be held in Cebu to discuss the fare increase petition for a P9 minimum jeepney fare filed by a transport group yesterday.
Regional Director Ahmed Cuizon of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board in Central Visayas (LTFRB-7) said he would call for a public hearing and invite different stakeholders to air their comments.
The petition was filed by the Cebu Integrated Transport Services Cooperative (Citrasco) seeking a P1.50 jeepney fare increase on the basis of rising fuel prices.
The current minimum PUJ fare is P7.50.
But high fuel prices alone may not be enough to justify a fare increase.
LTFRB chairman Jaime Jacob postponed the start of a provisional fare hike in Manila on Wednesday because Transportation Secretary Mar Roxas would still meet with transport groups.
Roxas said the administration may remove the value-added taxes (VAT) on fuel instead in answer to the call of transport groups.
“The government is taking into account all factors, including potential rise in the wages and prices of commodities, in deciding on the petition of drivers and operators for a provisional increase in jeepney fares,” said Roxas.
He said increasing jeepney fares would likely lead to higher prices of basic goods, affecting a larger part of the population and could trigger wage increases, affecting the profitability of businesses in the country.
“These things are directly and indirectly connected,” he said.
His statements come amid a nationwide protest by militant transport group Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (Piston), which called for the removal of the 12 percent VAT on fuel products and the stricter regulation of the country’s oil sector.
Cebu did not join the transport protest. Instead, Citrasco filed a petition for a PUJ fare hike from P 7.50 to P9.
“Our main reason is the continuing increase of the price of oil and our other consumables,” Ryan Benjamin Yu, Citrasco president, said.
He said diesel now cost from P47 to P48 per liter and maintenance costs have also gone up for tires, batteries, lubricants and spare parts.
Yu said that Citrasco wasn’t satisfied with the government’s Pantawid Pasadang Program, where drivers were given cards loaded with P1,050 worth of free fuel.
Yu said a provisional increase of P0.50 would only legalize the current practice of drivers collecting P8 instead of the P7.50 minimum fare because of lack of loose coins.
On the public hearing, Cuizon said there’s no schedule yet but he would invite representatives from different sectors.
He said the results of the hearing would be sent to the Manila office, which would would decide on the petition.
Transport groups in Metro Manila or National Capital Region, Regions 3 and 4 asked for a P2 increase from the P8 minimum fare for jeepneys for the first four kilometers and P1.75 for every succeeding kilometer from the current P1.40.
Bus drivers and operators asked for a P12 minimum fare for the first five kilometers from the current P9 and P1.70 for every succeeding kilometer from the current P1.40.
The Philippine National Taxi Operations Association (PNTOA) also filed this week a petition to increase the flag-down rate to P50 from the current P40 and P4.50 from P3.50 for every succeeding 300 meters.
Roxas said the administration would study Piston’s request to remove VAT on oil. As Senator, Roxas had previously called for converting VAT from a percentage to a “fixed” tax, which meant that the government would collect the same amount regardless of movements in fuel prices.
“The timing of this proposal must be evaluated thoroughly. The public is relying so much on social services that are being funded from what we collect from VAT. These include salaries for teachers and other government programs like conditional cash transfer,” he said.
Roxas said the issues of provisional fare increase and proposal to scrap or lower VAT would be addressed by government, depending partly on public sentiment and feedback from other state agencies.
Likewise, Roxas said the government would take into account the price of spare parts for jeepneys and buses. The last time the LTFRB approved an increase in jeepney fares was in July 2008, when the price of diesel went up to P52 per liter.
Although the price of diesel now averages P48 per liter, the prices of spare parts have increased since 2008. Roxas said the cost of tires went up by an average of P300, batteries by P330, belts by P15, and engine oil by P60 per liter.
On March 7 last year, Citrasco filed a P9 increase of jeepney fair from P6, but they later opted to push for an P8 minimum fare to ease the burden on passengers.
Yesterday’s petition was the third fare increase petition submitted by Citrasco in the last five years, Yu said.
A jeepney fare increase petition filed in 2007 was approved in 2008 but was only implemented for three months.
The LTFRB approved a provisional P1 jeepney fare increase from P6.50 to P7.50 last January after transport groups in Luzon filed a petition.
The increase was implemented nationwide./Reporter Candeze R. Mongaya, Correspondent Jhunnex Napallacan and Inquirer