Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said the base fare of jeepneys is expected to go down by 50 centavos as early as Friday (January 22).
Jeepney groups led by Pangkalahatang Sanggunian Manila and Suburbs Drivers Association (Pasang Masda), Federation of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines (FEJODAP), and the Alliance of Concerned Transport Organizations (ACTO) filed a petition to lower their fares following the drop in fuel prices.
Related: Operators want jeepney fare cut by P0.50
This will effectively bring down the base fare from P7.50 to P7.
Elvira Medina, president of the National Center for Commuter Safety and Protection, welcomed the move.
“Tuwang-tuwa po kami at nagpapasalamat kami sa aming transport sector na sila na ang kusang loob na magsabi ng rollback,” she said.
[Translation: “We are very happy and thankful to our transport sector that they took the initiative to rollback the fare.”]
The LTFRB is set to resolve this on Wednesday (January 20).
“We will resolve it today and we can possibly issue the order by the end of the day or early tomorrow morning, so that it can be published by Friday and also to be effective on Friday,” LTFRB Chairman Winston said.
The petition covers fares in the National Capital Region, Central Luzon (Region 3) and Southern Tagalog (Region 4), and only affects the base fare, which covers the first four kilometers.
Provisional fare cut
The charge for the succeeding kilometers will remain at P1.50 per kilometer.
Operators said they can’t lower fares for the succeeding kilometers as fuel prices are still volatile. This is why operators only filed for a provisional fare cut, they said.
A provisional fare cut allows them to easily jack up their fares in case fuel prices suddenly spike.
As for the other public utility vehicles, Ginez said they will hold hearings this month on the pending petition to keep the flag down fare of taxis permanently at P30.
Lower prices of basic goods too
With lower fare prices, jeepney operators are now asking the government to bring down the prices of spare parts and basic goods to help drivers.
“Ang laging batayan ng mga negosyante pag nagkakaroon ng pagtaas ng presyo ng langis ay tinataas nila ang pangunahing bilihin at spare part. Ngayon hinahamon ko naman ang DTI (Department of Trade and Industry), paano naman niya maipapababa ang spare part at pangunahing bilihin,” Efren De Luna, president of ACTO, said.
[Translation: “Businessmen always cite oil price hikes as basis of increasing prices of basic goods and spare parts. Now, we challenge the DTI on how it can lower prices of spare parts and basic goods.”]
DTI Undersecretary Vic Dimagiba said the agency welcomes the initiative of transport groups to lower their fares.
He added that the agency has called for a rollback in the price of basic goods a week ago, and that price councils will meet on Friday to discuss it.
There, retailers will discuss possible price adjustments to basic and prime commodities like sardines, milk, coffee, noodles, bread, flour, and even cement following cheaper fuel.
But there’s no guarantee that prices of these goods will actually go down.
The Trade department said fuel cost only accounts for an average of three percent of the total production cost of these commodities.
“It’s not that big, in terms of its percent share in total production cost… We have to listen to the stakeholders especially the business on what’s their take on the particular impact,” Dimagiba said in a mix of Filipino and English.
Expensive spare parts are also a concern for transport operators. But controlling the prices of these items stands to be more difficult as they’re not regulated.
