TUCP seeks 50% train fare discount for minimum-wage earners

Light Rail Transit Line 1 — INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Minimum-wage earners should receive a 50 percent discount on trips on Light Rail Transit Lines 1 and 2 (LRT-1 and LRT-2) and the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3), TUCP party-list Rep. Raymond Democrito Mendoza said Monday.

In a statement, Mendoza noted that while the Senate and House of Representatives have yet to deliberate on bills to raise the minimum wage, measures should be put in place to assist workers coping with the rising cost of goods and services.

“As we continue to relentlessly press both the Senate and the House of Representatives to urgently act on the pending legislated wage hike measures: We should come up with measures so that, as early as now, our workers can feel some comfort,” said Mendoza, a House deputy speaker.

“Mr. Secretary, there are over a million minimum wage earners in Metro Manila alone, and this is the least we can do to help alleviate their struggle in making ends meet,” he added, referring to Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon.

According to Mendoza, at the current fare of P35 per trip on LRT-2—from Antipolo Station to Recto Terminal in Manila—commuters traveling six days a week would spend P70 daily, saving P210 weekly or P840 monthly with a 50 percent discount.

“With a 50% discount, minimum wage earners can save as much as P840 a month or an extra P35 take-home pay every day. Every peso saved would go directly to the people’s dining tables so that they can serve better and more nutritious food for their families,” he said in Filipino.

Last July, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced that senior citizens and persons with disabilities (PWDs) could also avail of a 50-percent fare discount on LRT-1, LRT-2, and MRT-3 in observance of the 47th National Disability Week from July 17 to 23.

The special program followed the government’s implementation of a 50-percent fare discount for students in June, part of the administration’s directive to ease the financial burden on commuters.

“Our students, persons with disabilities, and senior citizens truly need our help because their income is very limited. That’s why we thought of this program as something we can do to support our commuters who are PWDs and senior citizens,” Marcos said at the MRT-3 Santolan-Annapolis southbound station.

Last August 13, Dizon announced that by September, discounted Beep Cards for students, PWDs, and senior citizens will be available for use on LRT-1, LRT-2, and MRT-3. This will automatically entitle them to a 50-percent fare discount.

READ: Beep cards with automatic discounts for students available by September

However, Mendoza said it seems minimum wage earners are left out.

“But why are minimum wage earners left out? We can include Filipino workers. Indeed, Mr. Secretary, the last thing we want is for our workers to fall in long lines all the time just to avail of the discount,” he said.

“They have been sacrificing much with their jobs — let us not add more burden to their struggle with lining up. It should be simple: workers can present a certificate of employment, which states their salary, and be given special Beep cards for hassle-free rides to and from work,” he added.

Congress came close to approving a legislated wage hike after the House of the 19th Congress passed House Bill (HB) No. 11376, or the proposed Wage Hike for Minimum Wage Workers Act, on third reading last June 4. The measure seeks a P200 increase in the daily salaries of minimum-wage earners.

The Senate’s counterpart, Senate Bill No. 2534, was approved in February 2024 and proposed a P100 daily minimum wage increase.

READ: House OKs P200 minimum wage hike on final reading

Due to the differences between the two bills, a bicameral conference committee should have been convened to reconcile them. The final version, contained in the committee’s report, would then need separate ratification by the House and Senate in plenary sessions before being forwarded to the president for approval.

However, during the last week of the 19th Congress’s session, reports emerged of a deadlock between the two chambers.

Former House Committee on Labor and Employment Chairperson and Rizal 4th District Rep. Juan Fidel Nograles favored a bicameral conference to ensure more transparent discussions. He said the House would not simply adopt the Senate’s version of the measure.

Eventually, the 19th Congress adjourned its session without both the Senate and the House ratifying a final version of the wage hike bill.

READ: 19th Congress ends session without ratifying wage hike bill

For the 20th Congress, several lawmakers have refiled bills seeking a minimum wage increase. On July 30, the Makabayan bloc announced the filing of HB No. 2599, which proposes a P1,200 daily minimum wage.

In the Senate, Senator JV Ejercito filed a bill advocating a P250 across-the-board increase in the daily minimum wage for private-sector workers.With reports to Verleen Dasigan, INQUIRER.net trainee