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Friday, March 29, 2024

SolGen sues for time on MRT-LRT fare hike

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The Supreme Court has been asked to deny the appeal of the Office of the Solicitor General for extension of time to answer the various petitions on government’s decision to increase fare at the Metro Rail Transit and Light Rail Transit.

In a seven-page opposition, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan stressed that there is no valid ground to grant the time extension sought by the OSG to file its comment.

“Obviously, there is no compelling reason for the public respondents to request for a resetting,” the petitioner said.

Earlier, Solicitor General Florin Hilbay asked the SC for a 30-day extension in the January 26 deadline for it to answer the petitions filed by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, Bayan Muna, United Filipino Consumers and Commuters Incorporated and former Iloilo Rep. Augusto Syjuco.

The chief state lawyer claimed that Solgen did not have the time to prepare the answer and comply with the Court’s order due to the four non-working holidays during the recent visit of Pope Francis. During those days, Hilbay said that the offices of respondents, Department of Transportation and Communications and the Light Rail Transit Authority were also closed.

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The Solicitor General asked the high court to allow him to submit the answers to the petitions on February 23 instead.

Aside from DOTC Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya and LRTA Administrator Honorito Chaneco, the other respondents are MRT 3 Officer-In-Charge Renato San Jose and the Light Rail Manila Consortium of Ayala and Metro Pacific and MRT Corporation.

However, Bayan argued that the OSG’s arguments is flimsy since it and the public respondents knew that about the filing of the petitions and as such they also have knowledge that the high court would require them to file comments on the said petitions.

The Bayan group pointed out that the OSG “failed to show sufficient reasonable cause” to entitle them to the suspension of the application of the rules.

The group said the recent action of the public respondents only showed the need for the high court to issue a status quo ante order while it is hearing the merit of the petitions.

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