LTFRB to decide on fares next week

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said it could decide by next week on a petition by jeepney drivers’ groups to raise the minimum fare amid rising fuel costs. LTFRB Chair Teofilo Guadiz III on Thursday said that they asked for more documents from the petitioners. Another hearing to discuss the petitions was set on Tuesday before they would come out with a decision. “By Tuesday, definitely in the afternoon, after the hearing, we will issue a decision,” he told reporters. Guadiz said they still have to sort out the conflicting appeals of the transport groups in order to come out with a resolution. “Whatever decision we will make, it will be effective across all transport groups, whether it is a provisional remedy of P1 or a P2 fare increase … It will be for the entire nation,” he said. The LTFRB is currently studying two different petitions. The first is from the Federation of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines and Stop&Go. The second was filed by Pasang Masda, Association of Concerned Transport Organizations, and Alliance of Transport Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines. —Frances Mangosing