No fare hike yet despite fuel price surge

National

FUEL prices are up again. Public transport fares, however, will stay unchanged for now.

The Marcos administration is holding off on a fare increase as it turns to subsidies and other forms of assistance to ease the impact of rising fuel costs on drivers, operators and commuters.

Palace press officer Claire Castro said the Department of Transportation (DOTr) is exhausting available measures to help the transport sector absorb higher fuel expenses before considering a fare adjustment.

“The government is exhausting every measure it can implement to help our drivers and the transport sector so that the burden will not be passed on to commuters. We hope the increasing fares will be our last resort,” Castro said in a Philstar report.

She mentioned existing DOTr measures, including fuel discounts and free toll for buses, would continue. Government agencies have also discussed providing targeted assistance to transport groups through the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

For now, the administration does not intend to raise fares, although Castro said the option remains open should other measures prove insufficient. She said the government would continue assisting drivers and other transport workers while studies on the impact of fuel prices and possible fare adjustments are ongoing.

Meanwhile, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board continues to hear petitions for fare increases, as Secretary Giovanni Lopez said the government is reviewing ways to broaden its assistance programs.

He said the current fuel discount, which was increased from P10 to P12, is limited to certain modes of public transport, particularly jeepneys and UV Express units. The DOTr is studying ways to expand the program to cover other transport modes.

Lopez said the government also has to weigh the broader economic consequences of higher fares, particularly their potential effect on inflation and the prices of goods and services.

“The government will shoulder the burden—we will stretch our resources as far as possible through subsidies and various initiatives,” he said in the same article.

Lopez added that DOTr programs are already being implemented and that the agency hopes a fare increase can remain a last resort.

The government’s position comes as motorists faced another major increase in pump prices yesterday. Diesel rose by P8.82 per liter, while gasoline and kerosene increased by P4.88 and P6.47, respectively.

It was the third consecutive major fuel price increase this month. In just three weeks, diesel prices have risen by a total of P18.31 per liter, while gasoline has gone up by P15.25 and kerosene by P16.67.

Several oil companies staggered their diesel price increases over two days to cushion motorists from the full impact of the adjustment.

Petron and Shell raised diesel prices by P7.80 per liter yesterday, with another P1 increase taking effect today. Seaoil implemented a P7.82 increase yesterday, followed by another P1 increase today.

The continued rise in fuel prices has also prompted transport group Piston to announce a two-day strike on Sept. 29 and 30.(MyTVCebu)