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BY GLENDA SOLOGASTOA
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ILOILO City – Transport groups in Region 6 wanted the minimum jeepney fare increased to P10 but several commuters told Panay News they would have none of it.
The Western Visayas Transport Coalition (WVTC) was seeking an additional P3.50 on top of the current P6.50 minimum jeepney fare.
Citing the series of increases in the prices of diesel, prime commodities and auto supplies, the group plans to file a petition before the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) Region 6 this week.
“Too much” was how a housewife from Pavia, Iloilo described what the transport group was proposing.
“A big no-no gid kay it’s too much para sa ordinary citizens,” Kathy Salveron told this paper. “Tamà ka dakô kag gulpi.”
A commuter from Pototan town who requested that they be identified only as “DLS” was surprised with the proposal.
“Abaw, P10 gid?! Indi pwede P8 lang danay?” said DLS, a government employee.
Increases in the prices of various commodities forced them to seek the fare increase, said Raymundo Parcon, president of the Iloilo City Loop Alliance of Jeepney Owners and Drivers Association (ICLAJODA).
“Asod-asod ang sakà sang bili sang diesel. Magnubô gani sinentimos man lang,” Parcon lamented.
“Ang mga prime commodities, nagsalalaka man [ang bili], pati auto supply ukon spare parts sang mga salakyan,” he added.
ICLAJODA, Iloilo City Alliance of Drivers Association, Iloilo City Alliance of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association, and Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Opereytors Nationwide – Panay belong to the WVTC.
Last Tuesday in Metro Manila, five transport groups filed before the LTFRB a petition seeking to increase the minimum jeepney fare to P10 from the current P8.
They cited as reasons the increase in the pump prices of diesel, the recent increase in minimum wage, the increase in prices of spare parts, and an expected new round of increase in diesel prices.
“Mag-file ang national (groups) sang P10, sundon na lang namon para uniform diri sa Western Visayas,” Parcon said.
Western Visayan transport groups also sought a P1 fare increase in May but the LTFRB has not yet acted on their petition, said Parcon.
But the transport leader said they might still make an adjustment in their proposed fare hike.
“Ginapamatian man naton ang aton mga commuters. Basi magnubô-nubô sia sa P3.50,” Parcon said.
In case the fare increase gets approved, its impact will vary among sectors, a Zarraga municipal government worker said.
Car owners, evidently, will not feel it but commuters will consider a P10 minimum jeepney fare a big deal, said Darwin Rex Almendral.
On the bright side, “damo siguro mapilitan mag-exercise, like walking na lang kon lapit [ang kaladtuan] kag kon medyo may budget, bakal na lang bike,” he quipped.
Another commuter from Pototan who asked to be identified only as EJ told Panay News, “Amo na ini bala ang pagbabag-o nga ginapahambog sang administrasyon, increase tanan?”
But not everyone is against the proposed fare hike.
“OK lang gid sa akon ang fare hike kay mahal gasolina subong, pati na ang mga balaklon,” said Donna Mercine, a private sector worker from the island province of Guimaras.
“Kaluoy man sang mga drivers kon indi sila ka-keep up sa pagtaas man sang [presyo sang] mga balaklon,” she said./PN
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