An umbrella group of commuter stakeholders has vowed to oppose the petition of the Manila North Harbor Port Inc. (MNHPI) for a 37.45 percent increase in tariff.
Elvira Medina, president of the National Center for Commuters Safety and Protection, warned that the proposed tariff adjustment would have severe impact not only on consumer goods but also on transportation costs.
“We will oppose this. It will have a heavy impact on the public, not just on cost of freight and consumer goods but also on petroleum products, which eventually will jack up transportation costs,” Medina said in a statement.
Acting like a monopoly
“They cannot justify this increase. They are already acting like a monopoly, and now they get to dictate the price? The public will always be at the losing end. It seems that MNHPI wants that their business will be the only one that will survive,” she added.
Medina urged the Duterte administration to give priority to the interest and welfare of local traders and the commuting public, before any tariff rate adjustment is even considered.
“If the Duterte administration is really serious in effecting change, it must disallow MNHPI’s petition,” Medina said.
“All stakeholders must be proactive in opposing this. People can no longer bear additional costs,” she added.
Democratic consultations
The commuters welfare group is the latest to oppose MNHPI’s tariff hike petition which is now pending before the Philippine Ports Authority.
Earlier, the United Filipino Consumers and Commuters, the Philippine Inter-Island Shipping Association, the Philippine Liner Shipping Association, Export Development Council, and Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc., also slammed the domestic cargo port operator for seeking a
tariff rate.
They urged PPA to conduct democratic consultations first before making a decision on the petition.
A technical working group composed of PPA officials and representatives from other concerned government agencies is scheduled to review the position papers submitted by all the groups that will be affected by the tariff hike petition.