The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) is ๐๐จ๐ง๐ฌ๐ข๐๐๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ฑ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ง๐ , ๐ข๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฅ ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ ๐ฎ๐ง๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ข๐๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ข๐ญ๐ฎ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง.
LTFRB Chairman Atty. Vigor D. Mendoza II said they are in discussion with concerned agencies and other stakeholders in weighing the best support system that could be given to the public transport sector amid the series of oil price hikes brought by the situation in the Middle East.
Aside from reviewing and recomputing the appropriate fare increase based on pending petitions as ordered by Transportation Secretary Banoy Lopez, Mendoza said discussions are also ongoing in sustaining, expanding and increasing the fuel discount as an alternative.
โWe are factoring everything in the conduct of review and recomputation and this includes the fact that it is difficult to do so because the situation in the Middle East remains unpredictable and unstable,โ said Chairman Vigor.
Amid the discussions, there were proposals that the ongoing fuel siscount be expanded and increased instead in order to cover the additional operational costs that the public utility vehicle (PUV) sector has been raising.
Currently, the PHP10 per liter fuel discount covers passenger jeepneys and UV Express, the most common modes of transportation being used by Filipino commuters on their way to workplaces and back to their homes.
More than 87,000 PUVs already benefited from the PHP10 per liter fuel discount and as of latest data, the number of PUVs listed in the system already reached more than 143,000.
โWe are looking into this proposal as the last option because the discussions on the matter are ongoing, and these discussions include public consultations with stakeholders nationwide,โ said Chairman Vigor.
While arguments raised by the supporters of fuel discount that it will not hurt the commuters and public because of the concerns on the inflation effects of any fare hike, Chairman Vigor said increasing the fuel discount and expanding it to cover as many PUVs would entail huge budgets.
โIncreasing and expanding the fuel discount is the most logical and practical measure in the middle of the uncertainty on the situation in the Middle East. This will be factored in the ongoing discussions,โ said Chairman Vigor.
The LTFRB earlier vowed to expedite the discussions on fare hike based on the order of Secretary Banoy, a commitment that Chairman Vigor made during his meeting with various transport groups earlier.
