DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/29 March) – The regional office of the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has recommended to its central office to approve the petition of a transport group for a provisional fare increase of P0.50.
Edgar Violan, administrative officer and spokesperson of LTFRB-XI, said the petition of Southern Eastern Mindanao Diversified Drivers Operators Cooperative (Semddoc) got “strong recommendation” from Benjamin Go, regional director of the agency.
“There is no reason for the central office to disapprove the petition considering that the agency already approved the provisional fare increase of P0.50 in other regions,” he said yesterday in the weekly
I-Speak forum at the presidential room in City Hall.
He said the en banc decision of the LTFRB national board will be finalized after the Holy Week.
The Network Transportation Organization also showed intention to file a motion for reconsideration to include Davao and Cotabato in the provisional fare rate hike.
“Only Transmission-Piston did not file a petition for a fare increase,” Violan said.
The minimum fare in the city is still P8, an amount set in February last year.
Last week, the agency’s central office approved the petition of the transport groups to increase the fare rates by P0.50. The order took effect only in areas where transport groups asked for an increase to help
alleviate the burden of the drivers and operators from the unabated increase on petroleum products.
Lawyer Jaime Acob, LTFRB chair, said the order covers only the National Capital Region and Regions 3 and 4 because of the continuing increase in prices of petroleum products. The agency monitored nine
increases this year.
“In the event of any future decrease in the oil prices to P45.00 level in diesel fuel, the Board shall recall, alter or modify this order to correspond with the demands of the public,” Acob added.
Semddoc further filed a petition before LTFRB-XI to increase the fare rates by P2. The group is also asking an additional P0.35 for every kilometer on top of the current rate of P1.40 per kilometer.
A group of taxi operators has also mulled filing a petition to increase the flag-down rate by P10. (MindaNews)
