Tuesday, September 16, 2008 Taxpayer seeks cut in fares
A PETITION for a reduction of fare rates for passenger jeepneys and taxis was filed yesterday by lawyer Manuel Iway before the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).
However, Iway said his petition was not “perfected” allegedly because LTFRB 7 Legal Officer Jose Douglas Sanson told him that he is not a taxpayer and that he has to pay a filing fee of P250.
Iway said that this is the third petition that he filed and the second one was given due course by then LTFRB 7 director Rogelio Osmeña, who did not require him to pay the filing fee.
Reduced
During the time of Osmeña, the petition Iway filed reduced the minimum jeepney fare from P7 to P6 for the first five kilometers.
Iway, a former LTFRB director, said that it is now time for the LTFRB to reduce the jeepney fare rates from P8 to P6 for the first five kilometers.
He questioned why the LTFRB 7 granted a P2 increase when in Metro Manila, the increase was only P1.
Iway also wants the removal of the P10 add-on fare for taxis because the amount is “too much” for the riding public.
He alleged that taxi drivers and operators are raking in huge profits because of the recent increase.
Iway reminded LTFRB 7 Director Romulo Bernardes, LTFRB chairman Thompson Lantion and LTFRB Board Members Ellen Cabatu and Gerardo Pinili that as per records of the Land Transportation Office, about 92 percent of the more than 6,000 taxi units in Cebu are already using Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).
He said that taxi operators, especially the members of the Metro Taxi Operators Association (MCTOA), are profiting from the P10 add-on fare because while the price of unleaded gasoline reached P51.25 per liter as of Sept. 12, the price of LPG remained at P30.20 to P33.68 per liter.
Secondly, Iway said, a taxi unit consumes one liter of LPG for 38 kilometers while those running on gasoline only runs from 10 to 12 kilometers per liter.
He said the LTFRB must receive and resolve his petition even if he did not pay the filing fee because it is the duty of the agency to protect the interest of the riding public.
He said that if LTFRB will refuse to take cognizance of his petition for reduction of fare rates, he is willing to go to court.
Bernardes, in a separate interview, said he will clarify with the LTFRB central office if the regional office can hear and decide on Iway’s petition.
But he opined that the petition for fare reduction was filed too soon because the increase of jeepney fare rates from P6 to P8 was approved by the LTFRB en banc when the price of diesel was P42 per liter. At present, it is still at P51.76 per liter.
He refused to comment on the points Iway raised against the taxi fare. (EOB)
