The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) will review the economic impacts of the P2 fare adjustment being requested by various transportation groups, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said.
“We just want to ensure our PUJ [public utility jeepney]drivers and operators nationwide that their pleas for fare adjustment do not fall on deaf ears,” LTFRB Chairperson Teofilo Guadiz III said. “We are well aware and continue to hear their plight amid the continuing oil price hikes and their difficulty in earning enough for their families.”
However, upon review and validation, this will still undergo further review, particularly by other economic agencies in government such as NEDA.
“Every fare increase has an economic impact and that is what has to be studied carefully by other government agencies such as the NEDA in order to come up with a fare increase that is justifiable and will not create a huge economic burden,” Guadiz added.
Two weeks ago, several transport groups such as the Liga ng Transportasyon at Operators sa Pilipinas, Pagkakaisa ng mga Tsuper at Operators Nationwide, Stop & Go Transport Coalition Incorporated, and The Federation of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines (FEJODAP) submitted a letter request to the LTFRB addressed to Guadiz, requesting for a P2 fare increase for all PUJs nationwide.
The groups cited the continuous spate of oil price hikes every week as the reason for their request for fare adjustment.
The LTFRB meanwhile directed transport groups to file a formal petition–instead of just a letter–on their request for a fare increase for public utility jeeps.
Guadiz III, during yesterday’s hearing, stressed that the agency is open to the appeal of the transport groups for a fare hike amid the successive increase of fuel products in the past
two months.
He, however, said the government has to balance the impact of a fare increase to the riding public. He maintained that the transport groups must abide by the Public Service Act to file a formal petition within the next five days.
Two weeks ago, the Liga ng Transportasyon at Operators sa Pilipinas, Pagkakaisa ng mga Tsuper at Operators Nationwide, Stop & Go Transport Coalition Incorporated, and Federation of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines submitted a letter request to the LTFRB, asking for a P2 fare increase for all PUJs nationwide. With Rio N. Araja