New fare hike in effect as labor groups to mull wage increase

A P1.00 FARE increase or P7.50 fare for passenger jeepneys may not be much, but for 52-year-old carpenter Esmer Pinas, it means more walking and less riding.

“Maningkamot na lang ko’g tigum ani arun makaplete (I’ll just have to save more so I can pay the fare),” said Pinas, a single father of two children.

A carpenter working in barangay Banilad, he sets aside P50 every day for his four trips from his home in barangay Babag 1.

Pinas is already at knots trying to stretch a P1,600 weekly income to pay the rent, food and other miscellaneous expenses for his family.

His two kids aged 15 and 17 years old would often stay at home or do part-time work on the side to supplement the family income.

Pinas said he would try to walk the shorter routes so he can save on fares.

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) recently approved a petition to increase the jeepney fare from P6.50 to P7.50.

Under the fare rate increase, one peso will be added for the first four or five kilometers with an additional P1.50 added for every succeeding kilometer.

The P1 fare increase or the P8 fare took effect yesterday but the LTFRB required drivers to apply for a certificate from their office prescribing the fare increase and a certificate of verification to verify their franchise.

Both certificates cost P50 each. Without the certificates, the jeepney drivers cannot charge the additional P1.00, Regional LTFRB-7 Director Ahmed Quizon said.

Jeepney driver Efran Pernia said some passengers would already pay P8 and not ask for the 50 centavo change.

The drivers are required to give a 20 percent discount to persons with disabilities (PWD), senior citizens and students who would only pay P6.00 instead of P7.50. Elsewhere, labor groups said they will petition for a wage adjustment in light of the P1.00 jeepney fare increase.

Joy Lim, communications officer of the Association of Labor Union–Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), said they usually file a petition in late April. But they said they made an exception due to the fare hikes and increase in the prices of commodities.

He said they would push for an across-the-board wage increase for workers because the last P18 increase was only for minimum wage earners.

The Association of Progressive Labor said they will still convene to determine the amount to be petitioned. Reporters Candeze R. Mongaya and Marian Z. Codilla, Cebu Daily News