Tuesday, June 10, 2008 Hold plans of strike, LTFRB tells drivers
THE Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) 7 yesterday said it is premature for the transport groups in Cebu to stage a transport holiday on June 16 if their petition for a P2.50 increase in the minimum fare will not be acted upon.
LTFRB 7 Director Ro-mulo Bernardes said they are now acting on the petition but they are still finalizing the date, venue and time of the public hearings.
Bernardes said he will meet with the transport leaders today, especially those from the Cebu Integrated Transport Service Multi-Purpose Cooperative (Citrasco) and the Visayas United Drivers Transport Service Cooperative (Vudtrasco).
At the same time, Bernardes said LTFRB 7 is finalizing the rules for a public hearing on the matter.
Students from the different colleges and universities, workers from different industries, local officials from the cities of Cebu, Mandaue, Lapu-Lapu and Talisay and the municipalities of Consolacion, Liloan and Cordova will attend.
The hearing is tentatively scheduled tomorrow, not today as earlier reported.
Bernardes said that because they are doing everything for the public hearing, the transport leaders should not make a transport holiday threat.
Some workers who take jeepney rides everyday viewed the transport holiday as a threat against them because they can no longer report to work if no jeepneys will ply their routes.
Earlier, lawyer Manuel Iway expressed opposition to any fare rate increase because drivers in Cebu and the rest of Central Visayas arrogantly refused to give discounts to students and senior citizens.
Iway said drivers who violated the law by refusing to give discounts don’t deserve a higher fare.
Meanwhile, the Cebu South Mini-Bus Operators Association (CSMBOA) will collect today the correct fares that were approved by LTFRB two years ago but they did not implement.
The lawful fare is P8.50 for the first four kilometers and P1.30 per succeeding kilometer.
CSMBOA president Julie Flores said the operators pressured the drivers and conductors by increasing the bus rentals. (EOB)
