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By Angelo S. Samonte, Reporter
The National Economic and Development Authority
(NEDA) has approved the proposed P1-fare increase for public
transport, the agency’s acting director general, Augusto Santos,
reported Tuesday.
“The NEDA board has already approved the fare
increase based on the proposal from the Land Transportation
Franchising and Regulatory Board [LTFRB],” Santos said during a
press briefing in Malacañang.
The board’s chairman, Thompson Lantion, told
reporters via teleconference that the government will disregard the
required 10-day period for the transport sector to give its position
on the fare increase decision.
“The increase will be effective Thursday or
Friday this week,” he added.
Lantion said his agency recommended the increase
in fares for jeepneys, taxis, and buses amid the continued rise in
oil and food prices.
With NEDA’s approval, jeepneys nationwide
would now be charging P8.50 from P7.50 for the first four
kilometers, plus P0.25 for every succeeding kilometer.
For ordinary buses plying Metro Manila, the
increase will be from P9 to P10 for the first five kilometers,
plus P0.20 for every succeeding kilometer. For the air-conditioned
buses, the increase would be computed as 20 percent of what is
charged by ordinary buses. Reports said this was from P11.50 to
P12.50.
The increase for taxi fare would be an
additional P10, but it won’t be part of the flag-down rate,
Lantion said.
Lantion added that provincial buses were not
included in the adjustment, because they had been granted a
provincial increase, adding he doesn’t know about the possibility
of more fare hikes in the coming months.
“It will depend on transport sector since they
have the right to file petitions for fare increases,” he said.
The Land Transportation Franchising and
Regulatory Board is also deliberating on the P2 subsidy for the
sector to shield operators and drivers from the continuous increases
in oil prices.
“These mechanics would have to be threshed out
by the LTFRB, and it has to go back to the Cabinet for final
approval,” he said.
The fare hike proposal was approved Tuesday
during the NEDA Cabinet board meeting presided over by President
Gloria Arroyo.
Last week, government reported that inflation
soared to a 14-year high in June, riding on the skyrocketing fuel
prices. On Saturday, pump prices in domestic market were raised for
the 18th time in the year, with gasoline prices hitting P62 a liter.
The government expects inflation to ease up
toward the end of the year as the world oil price is expected to
temporarily retreat from the current high of $146 a barrel.
-- With Xinhua
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