THE Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said it is not yet time to increase again the minimum fare of public utility jeepneys (PUJs) to P10 despite the call of some transport leaders for a provisional hike amid the recent hike in fuel prices.
“Sa nakikita namin, hindi pa napapanahon ‘yung pag-i-increase, whether it is privisional, doon sa pasahe ng jeepney,” LTFRB Chairman Martin Delgra III said in an interview on Wednesday.
According to Delgra, when the minimum fare on PUJs increased to P10, the prices of fuel and gasoline peaked to around P50 per liter.
The LTFRB has granted the petition of a P2 fare increase for jeepneys in October last year in time with the rising pump prices and runaway inflation.
However, a month after the hike was implemented, the LTFRB issued a resolution lowering the minimum jeepney fare to P9 following a hefty decline in prices of petroleum products in the world market in the past two months.
“It [fare] was lowered to P9 when we saw a trend that the prices of fuel is going down to P35. The pump price at that time reached at least a little over P35 per liter,” he said.
Delgra made the statement following the appeal of Federation of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Associations of the Philippines national head Zenaida Maranan, for fare hike as the prices of oil products, particularly diesel, recently increase.
Maranan urged the LTFRB chairman to issue a provisional increase which would bring back the PUJ minimum fare to P10 from the current P9. (Alexandria San Juan)
