DIEGO Malacad, secretary-general of the United Negros Drivers and Operators Center (Undoc), assured the commuters they will immediately reduce the fare rate to P7 if the price of diesel fuel reaches P32 per liter.
Malacad said the P32 per liter baseline was the price of diesel fuel in the province because the series of price increases were implemented 17 times here.
In Metro Manila, their baseline is P36 per liter for diesel fuel, Malacad said.
“Automatically, we will implement the fare rate reduction even without the order from the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board,” Malacad said.
He said the recent price rollback of petroleum products is a relief for the drivers, however, it is not enough that they could implement the fare rate reduction.
A fare rate hike of P8.50 for the first four kilometers was implemented in Western Visayas in August, four months later after the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) approved its increase in February.
Meanwhile, Negros Occidental Vice Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said the effects of the implementation of the second tranch of excise tax on fuel by 2019 “remains to be seen.”
“The effect remains to be seen,” Lacson said.
On December 4, President Rodrigo Duterte reversed his decision to suspend the second round of increase of excise taxes imposed on petroleum products after recommendations from his economic managers to lift his earlier order.
READ: Fuel excise tax hike to proceed in 2019
https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1777153
According to Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno, the President made the decision during the Cabinet meeting on December 4.
The economic managers cited the recent rollbacks in the price of fuel and the downtrend of the price of crude oil in the world market.
Diokno said the "sharp" decline in global crude prices convinced Duterte to approve the new recommendation of the economic managers.