Transport groups set for 3-day strike

National

TRANSPORT groups will be staging a three-day strike from Aug. 10 to 12 as they pressed for a provisional fare increase amid the continuing oil price surge.

Manibela made the announcement after the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) heard the fare increase petitions on Monday, Aug. 3.

In response to the appeal of transport groups, the LTFRB said it will send a recommendation for an interim fare hike to Malacañang this week.

“The oil price hike has made us suffer for a long time. A fare increase would have been the answer, but we could not get it today,” Manibela chairman Mar Valbuena said in a Philstar report.

Manibela said the price rollback of P0.73 for gasoline and P0.60 for diesel this week wasnot enough to offset last week’s huge pump price increases .

Valbuena lamented that a large portion of their income often goes to more than P85 to P95 per liter of diesel, maintenance, boundary payments and other operating expenses.

“When oil companies increase pump prices, they show no transparent computation nor public hearing. Meanwhile, for us, we have to protest for a P1 to P2 fare hike petition,” Valbuena said.

Valbuena defended their call for a fair hike. He said hikes are not meant to burden Filipino commuters but to help jeepney drivers continue plying amid worsening economic conditions.(MyTVCebu)