PUJ groups give LTFRB a week to decide on hike

Jeepney groups expect the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to come out with a decision on their fare hike petition within a week after yesterday’s second hearing on their petition wherein they submitted a position paper listing their reasons for asking for a fare hike.

Efren de Luna, national president of the Philippine Confederation of Drivers Organizations-Alliance of Concerned Transport Operators (PCDO-ACTO), said that with their submission of their position paper, the LTFRB now has all the documents they need to come out with a ruling soon.

"I think a week is enough for them to decide," de Luna told The STAR. "They already have all they need to make a ruling."

He said that the Office of the Solicitor General had already submitted to the LTFRB their comments on their fare hike petition.

PCDO-ACTO, the Federation of Jeepney Drivers and Operators Association of the Philippines (FEJODAP), the Alliance of Transport Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines, the Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Opereytors Nationwide (PISTON) and the Makati Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association (MJODA) had filed a "consolidated" petition for a P1.50 jeepney fare hike with the LTFRB last Feb. 18 due to the skyrocketing price of diesel fuel, rising price of spare parts and inflation.

The five major jeepney groups had also included a petition for a provisional P1 increase while the LTFRB was deciding on the main "consolidated" petition.

Meanwhile, members of the jeepney sector will be heading for Baguio City for a three-day jeepney sector summit that will start today.

"We will be gathering to discuss our plans in the coming days," De Luna told The STAR. "We will talk about the moves we will make once the LTFRB decides on our petition."