Committee chairman and majority floor leader Ritchel Bacaltos said there is reasonable cause for the city council to give what the tricycle drivers are asking for.
The Federation of Tricycle Operators and Drivers, which has an estimated membership of more than a hundred, filed a petition before the council committee on transportation and public utilities last month asking for an increase in fare from P5 to P6 for the first four kilometers and P1 for the succeeding kilometers. Among the reasons cited by the federation for their fare hike petition were the approval of the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board of the hike in jeepney and bus fares, the increase in minimum wage for laborers and the rising price of fuel.
The committee on transportation and public utilities, headed by Councilor Arturo Bas, then held a public hearing last September 16.
"The committee on laws finds the measure fitting and just considering the plight of our tricycle drivers. We recommend the passage of the ordinance," Bacaltos said. - Garry B. Lao