BACOLOD CITY, Negros Occidental, Philippines – A transport leader here said jeepney drivers could not yet demand for a fare increase while a pandemic that has weakened the economy continues to rage.
Teddy Macainan told DNX drivers cannot push for higher fares even though fuel companies had declared a price hike effective yesterday 4 January 2021.
The transport sector was allowed by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board to double the usual fare for as long as the 70 percent passenger capacity is observed.
Macainan, provincial chair of the Alliance of Concerned Transport in Occidental Negros Incorporated, said this fuel price hike was supposed to happen last December 2021 when cold weather starts in other countries, pushing consumption of diesel fuel up as households use heaters.
He added a series of hikes is expected until March 2022.
The estimated price increase in gasoline is P2.27 per liter while that for diesel is P1.86 or P1.87.
Macainan added that they are expecting low prices by April this year.
He also advised drivers and operators to bear with the government because the hike in prices is beyond its control.
