THE fare rollback asked by the commuters would only be possible if the government suspends the P6 excise tax on fuels, according to Diego Malacad, secretary-general of United Negros Drivers and Operators Center (Undoc), on Wednesday, November 21.
He said like their mother organization in Metro Manila, they also have a baseline for the price of diesel fuel at P36 to P38 per liter so they can implement the fare rollback.
“The commuters are asking. We can implement the regionalized rollback in fares if the baseline is reached, which was the price of diesel before the implementation of the P8.50 regular fare in Western Visayas,” Malacad said.
He said it was on February 5, 2018 when the public hearing was conducted for the fare rate hike and was approved, but it was only implemented by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board in August.
Malacad said that if the government decides to suspend the excise tax, there are still several taxes that are being charged to fuels so the government will still get revenues from fuels.
He also explained that oil companies are still making a lot of money from fuel products despite the rollback in prices six times already.
“The rollback should be bigger if the oil companies are honest enough to implement it,” Malacad added. (TDE)