Commuter group decries proposed MRT fare hike

A commuter group has called on Transportation and Communications Secretary Jose de Jesus to speed up the agency’s collection efforts against Metro Rail Transit’s (MRT) private contractors first before coming up with a fare increase on the said mass transit line. Elvira Medina, president of the National Council for Commuter Protection (NCCP), said it would be better if the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) would first go after the private firms that still have unpaid obligations rather than forcing the public to carry the burden.

Medina added that the increase from P15 to P25 is a very steep price for majority of those who ride the MRT.

She also said that the additional P40 that a passenger would have to pay for a round-trip is too much for an ordinary worker.

The NCCP president cited the reported P1 billion-balance of the MRT Development Corporation (MRT Devco) to the government, which if collected, the amount should be able to cut a fifth of the subsidy the government is currently extending to the MRT operations.

It was learned that the said amount is the outstanding balance of MRT Devco to the Transportation department as Development Rights Payment (DRP) covering the undeveloped airspaces on the MRT-3 stations.

The development rights, which include the rights to derive revenue from advertising, were supposed to be a source of income for the Transportation department to help offset the cost of operating the transit system.

Medina, citing earlier reports, said MRT Devco failed to pay monthly amortization for the DRP since 2005, resulting in an outstanding debt of P1,009,727,506.94 as of June 22.

“We are asking the DOTC to heed President Noynoy [Aquino]’s call for a creative solution,” the NCCP said in a statement.

Medina said that the company was given a special concession to make money for itself and if the reports are correct, it is only proper that MRT Devco pay its obligation to the government.

In a related development, MRT General Manager Rey Berroya and other officials are now facing criminal and administrative complaints before the Office of the Ombudsman for allegedly allowing the illegal use of the advertising structures, in favor of MRT Devco and Media Puzzle Inc.

The complaint was filed by outdoor media company Track-works, the owner of the said advertising structures after Berroya refused to grant the said company access to its own advertising structures.

According to the complaint, the refusal of Berroya and his men to allow Trackworks access has deprived it of significant advertising business, which could have been used by the government to offset its subsidies to the MRT.

The MRT officials reportedly barred Trackworks but allowed MRT Devco and its sales arm Media Puzzle to conduct its own advertising using the complainant’s structures. -JEFFERSON ANTIPORDA REPORTER, Manila Times