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ALLIANCE OF TRANSPORT OPERATORS AND DRIVERS ASSOCIATION OF THE PHILIPPINES (ALTODAP),
FEDERATION OF JEEPNEY OPERATORS AND DRIVERS ASSOCIATION OF THE PHILIPPINES (FEJODAP),
LAND TRANSPORTATION ORGANIZATION OF THE PHILIPPINES (LTOP)
NATIONAL TRANSPORTER-WORKERS UNION (NTU-TRANSPORTER)		LTFRB Case No. 10-3235
Petitioners,
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NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR COMMUTERS PROTECTION, INC.,
Petitioner,		LTFRB Case No. 2008-1654
PASANG MASDA NATIONWIDE, INC.,
Movant.
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CONSOLIDATED ORDER

Pending resolution before this Board is a petition for increase in fare of public utility jeepney (PUJ) service for the National Capital Region, Region 3 and Region 4, with a prayer for a provisional increase filed by Alliance of Transport Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines (ALTODAP), Federation of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines (FEJODAP), Land Transportation Organization of the Philippines (LTOP), National Transporter-Workers Union (NTU-TRANSPORTER) in the amount of an additional One Peso (Php1.00) for the first four kilometers and additional Ten Centavos (Php0.10) for every succeeding kilometer, which will result in Eight Pesos (Php8.00) for the first four (4) kilometers, and One Peso and Fifty Centavos (Php1.50) for every succeeding kilometer.

Petitioner ALTODAP et. al., allege as grounds the following to support their petition:

1. That on May 9, 2005, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) granted an increase in the minimum PUJ fares, making the minimum fare Seven Pesos and Fifty Centavos (Php7.50) for the first fourt (4) kilometers and an increase of One Peso and Twenty-Five Centavos (Php1.25) for every succeeding kilometer, when the pump price of diesel fuel was Twenty-Seven Pesos and Fifty Centavos (Php27.50);
   
   
2. That today, the pump price of diesel (based on December 14, 2010 price) is Thirty- Seven Pesos and Seventy-Five Centavos (P37.75), an increase of more sixty-four percent (64%);
   
   
3. That the high operating and maintenance costs of PUJ service has increased, which greatly reduced the income of petitioners;
   
   
4. That petitioners’ purchasing power based on the value of One Peso (Php1.00) in 2005 is now only Seventy-Eight Centavos (Php0.78), a twenty-two percent (22%)
   decrease.

Petitioner PASANG MASDA on the other hand, in its Urgent Motion to Revert Back (Public Utility Jitneys Fare Rate to Php7.50), prays that the minimum fare rate be reverted back to Seven Pesos and Fifty Centavos (Php7.50) considering the fact that the price of diesel per liter has reached the bracket of Php35.00 – Php36.00, as per the history of fare increases/decreases promulgated by this Board on previous rollback Orders.

Antecedent Facts:

On July 14, 2008, this Board issued a Consolidated Decision in LTFRB cases 2001-1798 and 2007-2102, granting a fare rate adjustment of Fifty Centavos (Php0.50) to the then existing provisional fare of Eight Pesos (Php8.00) for the first four kilometers or an approved PUJ fare of Eight Pesos and Fifty Centavos (Php8.50) for the first four (4) kilometers, and an additional One Peso and Fifty Centavos (Php1.50) for the succeeding kilometers. The said decision was precipitated by the incessant increase in the price of fuel “due mainly to the decline of the value of dollar, the rising global demand…and supply outages in the oil producing countries.” At that time, the pump price of diesel was Fifty Two Pesos (Php52.00) per liter.

On November 4, 2008 however, prompted by the sudden and dramatic drop of oil prices in the world market, this Board issued an Order in LTFRB Case No. 2008-1654 granting a provisional reduction of fare rates from Eight Pesos and Fifty Centavos (Php8.50) to Eight Pesos (Php8.00) for the first four (4) kilometers and an additional One Peso and Fifty Centavos (Php1.50) for every succeeding kilometer. The prevailing pump price of diesel fuel at that time was Forty-Four Pesos and Forty-Three Centavos (Php44.43) per liter.

On December 4, 2008, due to the continuous decline of the price of crude oil in the world market, this Board issued another Order on LTFRB Case Nos. 2008-1654 and
2008-0692, further granting another provisional reduction of fare rates from Eight Pesos (Php8.00) to Seven Pesos and Fifty Centavos (Php7.50) for the first four (4) kilometers and an additional One Peso and Forty Centavos (Php1.40) for every succeeding kilometer. The prevailing pump price of diesel fuel at that time was Thirty Five Pesos (Php35.00) per liter.

Finally, on February 20, 2009, when the prevailing pump price of diesel was hovering at around Twenty Three Pesos (Php23.00) per liter, this Board issued an Order further reducing the fare rate from Seven Pesos and Fifty Centavos (Php7.50) to Seven Pesos (Php7.00) for the first four (4) kilometers and an additional One Peso and Forty Centavos (Php1.40) for every succeeding kilometer.

To date, the pump price of diesel (based on December 14, 2010 price) is Thirty-Seven Pesos and Seventy-Five Centavos (Php37.75), an increase of more than Fourteen Pesos (Php14.00) or roughly sixty-four percent (64%), from the time the last Order on fare rates was made by this Board.

Discussion

At the onset, this Board bears stressing the fact that the abovementioned Orders to rollback the fare rates Passenger Utility Jitneys (PUJ) were provisional in nature. The Board on the said Orders, was exercising its power to provisionally increase fare rates without hearing, citing Section 16(c) of the Public Service Act, as amended, which states to wit:

“That the Commission (Board) may, in its discretion, approve rates proposed by public services  provisionally and without necessity of any hearing; provided it shall call a hearing within thirty (30) days thereafter, upon publication and notice to the concerns operating in the territory affected.” [emphasis supplied]

Furthermore, this Board notes that on November 2008, when the price of diesel went down from Php52.00 to Php39.85, the Board issued the aforementioned “Fare Reduction Order” at the urging of the PUJ operators and drivers in Metro Manila who even offered to voluntarily reduce the minimum fare from Php8.50 to Php8.00. When the price of diesel continued to drop to Php34.95, the PUJ operators again reduced the minimum fare to Php7.50 on December 4, 2008, and again on February 23, 2009 when the price of diesel dropped to Php23.00, resulting in a minimum fare of Php7.00.

Considering that the Board can take judicial notice of the rising prices of goods, higher cost of living, and increasing fuel prices that are affecting everyone in this country, this Board believes that a provisional adjustment of One Peso (Php1.00) may be availed by all PUJs in the country, in the interest of public interest, public safety and convenience.

While the Board recognizes the plight of the Filipino people in this time of crisis, it cannot be insensitive to the present clamor of stake holders in public land transportation services for necessary action for fare rates. Thus, the Board has to judiciously balance the rights of the riding public who are mostly dependent on the public transport system vis-à-vis the right of grantees of Certificates of Public Convenience to a reasonable return of investment – “The duty which the court (or this Board) owed to the public is not less than that which it owes to the carriers.” (Manila Railroad Co. vs AL Ammen Trans. Co. Inc. 48 Phil. 900; 1926). This Board, being the regulatory agency for the people, is duty bound to act accordingly when so warranted by events that affects the society as a whole, and considering that any petition for fare rate adjustment is a matter of paramount importance, this Board is now constrained to provisionally dispose the pending Petitions for fare rate increase for PUJ Services in the abovementioned case numbers.

WHEREFORE, in view of the foregoing premises, this Board hereby provisionally authorize all the Passenger Utility Jitneys (PUJ) in the country, to adjust their fare rates by ONE PESO (PHP1.00) TO THE MINIMUM FARE FOR THE FIRST FOUR (4) OR FIVE (5) KILOMETERS, WHICHEVER IS APPLICABLE, subject to the following terms and conditions:

1. The existing rates applicable as to the succeeding kilometers in excess of the first four (4) or five (5) kilometers shall remain the same.
   
   
2. All Passenger Utility Jitneys (PUJ) services are directed to grant to qualified senior citizens utilizing their services a fare discount of not less than 20% of the provisionally increased fares upon presentation of their senior citizen identification card;
   
   
3. Students are entitled to a student fare discount of not less than 20% of the provisionally adjusted fares EVERYDAY, during school days, upon presentation of their ID cards or their Registration Cards, both duly validated by their schools, bearing their pictures with their names and schools indicated therein;
   
   
4. The same 20% discount of the provisionally adjusted fares shall also be granted to disabled persons;
   
   
5. Any PUJ driver or operator found violating the new provisional rates shall be penalized by a fine of Five Hundred Pesos (Php500.00), and depending on the gravity of the offense and repeated violation, may result in the cancellation of the franchise.

This order shall be effective beginning February 2, 2011 and shall be valid, unless modified, revoked or cancelled by the Board.

Let a copy of this Order be published in a newspaper of general circulation for proper information dissemination.

SO ORDERED.

Adopted: 31 January 2011


(SGD.) ATTY. NELSON  P. LALUCES
Chairman

(SGD.) ENGR. SAMUEL JULIUS B. GARCIA
Board Member

Attested by:

(SGD.) ATTY. DANTE XENON B. ATIENZA
Executive Director

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Dissenting Opinion:

Petitioners claim to represent transport groups nationwide, yet no petitions for increase of minimum fare were ever filed in other Regions. This raises the presumption that operators in other Regions are perfectly content with the income they earn despite the rise of diesel prices.

Petitioners allege that high cost of goods lead to higher maintenance and operating expenses for their members, yet no documentary proof was attached to the petition. In all my years as a private lawyer, I have yet to see a transport group present studies, projections, financial statements, or data showing the increase of goods which allegedly affect their operations. Jeepney drivers do not always give the correct change to their passengers, and they do not always comply with the students or senior citizen’s discount.

Increase in MRT rates will most likely result in more people riding jeepneys that the MRT. Since jeepney drivers do not issue receipts for every fare they receive, it is uncertain how much income a jeepney driver earns daily.

I dissent from the Order granting the provisional increase of one peso nationwide. First, because not all Regions applied for the increase, and second, because the petitioners have not attached any document that will even merit a prima facie showing that they are entitled to the provisional increase.


(SGD.) ATTY. MANUEL M. IWAY
Board Member