Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 31) — Prior notice and hearing are required for fare hikes of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Lines 1 and 2 and the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3 to be valid, the Supreme Court (SC) said in a decision upholding fare adjustments made in 2014.
“Thus, ruled the SC En Banc in a Decision penned by Justice Jhosep Y. Lopez dismissing the various petitions challenging Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) Department Order 2014-014 (DO 2014-014), which mandated the application of the ‘user-pays’ principle and adopted a uniform base fare for LRT Lines 1 and 2 and MRT Line 3 of ₱11.00, plus ₱1.00 per kilometer of distance travelled,” the SC Public Information Office said Friday.
The DOTC, now the Department of Transportation (DOTr), issued DO 2014-014 to increase the fare per ride for the three rail lines: LRT-1: from ₱12.00 to ₱20.00, increased to ₱15.00 to ₱30.00; LRT-2, from ₱12.00 to ₱15.00, increased to ₱15.00 to ₱25.00; and MRT-3, from ₱10.00 to ₱15.00, increased to ₱13.00 to ₱28.00.
As a result, petitions were filed before the SC arguing that the hikes violated due process as the DOTC had issued the enactment without notice or hearing. The petitions also said fare hikes were under the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board’s jurisdiction, and that the increases were without basis. The SC dismissed these.
The high court found that the DOTC had, at the time, issued notice and hearing by notifying of public consultations through two major newspapers in January 2011. These consultations were then held a month later, three years before the issuance of DO 2014-014.
Though it dismissed the petitions, the SC ruled that prior notice and hearing were still required in the fixing of rates.
The court also ruled that Congress had validly delegated to the DOTC the power to adjust the fare of the MRT-3, LRT-1, and LRT-2, as it was within the agency’s mandate to determine or fix rates applicable to public land transportation utility facilities and services.
The SC also ruled that the `”LTFRB has no authority to implement and/or adjudicate fare increases for the rail transit system.”
