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COMMUTERS between Central Luzon and Metro Manila, the growing legion
to which I belong, are a blessed lot. The mandated fare is P1.45 per
kilometer and this was decided by the government when oil prices
were $24 to $26 per barrel.
It is 2008 now. Oil prices are over $100 per
barrel. The big bus operators there still charge P1.20 per
kilometer, way below the mandated fare. The economics of their
survival should be studied by recession-bound United States.
A recent announcement that the bus operators
will increase the P1.20 charge on a staggered basis till it reaches
the mandated fare of P1.45 drew a very predictable reaction from us
commuters—rounds and rounds of protests. We claimed that we have
been the most exploited commuters on the planet.
Not true, of course, because the fare structure
of the buses in the Central Luzon—Metro Manila run is one of the
lowest in the country, if not the lowest. But as a commuter, one has
to show fake anger, superficial indignation.
As if the surging oil prices and the low fare
structure were not enough, the Central Luzon bus operators were
recently ordered by the City of San Fernando, the Pampanga capital,
to use a so-called “Central Terminal” built by a private
developer. The terminal will charge P50 for every bus that uses it
to load and unload passengers. That means that every major bus
operator will enrich the terminal developer by at least P5 million a
year.
In a few months, the terminal developer, which
has promised to share its proceeds with the city government, will be
able to recoup its investment: a piece of land, a patch of cement
and a row of apartment-type establishments.
If nothing is done to stop the developer—St.
Catherine Realty—from charging such exorbitant rate, it would have
a cash cow that will be nearly as profitable as the Manila North
Tollways Corporation (MNTC), the operator of the North Luzon
Expressway (NLEX). The realty company is owned by the Dizon family,
said to be the second richest, if not the richest, family in
Pampanga.
The MNTC is definitely a bigger cash cow. Right
now, its cash registers are constantly ringing, cash upon cash
fattening up its already fat coffers. And while the bus operators
that are its major clients are rocked by financial and operational
troubles of all sorts, the MNTC is enjoying a banner year.
On top of its bundles of cash, the MNTC is now
reaping a windfall from a strong peso regime.
You see the MNTC widened the NLEX after it took
over its management and operation and coated it with swaths of
asphalt (that also raised serious questions on its roadworthiness).
For that, the MNTC contracted dollar-denominated loans. The foreign
loans of MNTC were contracted at the rate of P55 to a dollar,
according to the Provincial Bus Operators Association of the
Philippines (PBOAP). And the P55 to a dollar exchange rate was
heavily factored in when the MNTC computed its toll matrix for the
NLEX.
The currency regime has substantially reduced
the debt service load of the corporation. At P41 to a dollar, a
close to 30 per cent reduction on its debt servicing fees has been a
bliss to the MNTC. Aware of this, the bus operators have pleaded to
the corporation for a reduction of its toll fees. They are hopeful
for an immediate response.
My sense is the MNTC has no option but to grant
a toll fee reduction equivalent to how much its debt service load
has been reduced. Fair is fair. If it does not, I don’t think the
bus operators will take the corporation inaction on their request
for a toll fee reduction sitting down.
Should the company reject the appeal for toll
fee reduction, here is one possible scenario. Buses that use the
NLEX will post on their buses big banners or streamers that say,
“Moderate Your Fees.”
If it stalls and refuses to take action, the
word “Fees” will be changed to “Greed.”
ABS-CBN may not do a story on the
provocative/embarrassing banners. But Channel 7 and DZBB will air it
non-stop. The other media networks will join in and report on the
alleged squeeze play at the highway.
At this point in its rich corporate life, the
MNTC would not risk a standoff with bus operators that have been
buffeted by an oil price surge, a low fare structure, heavy
government regulation, greedy developers of transport terminals,
etc., etc…
The MNTC knows that desperation (which is the
mood of bus operators) is the mother of determination.
mlatimes@gmail.com
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