Defer LRT-1 fare hike, Marcos urged

MANILA, Philippines — Transport and commuter advocacy groups yesterday appealed to President Marcos to overturn the Department of Transportation (DOTr)’s order granting a fare increase for the Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1), which will take effect tomorrow.

The groups said Marcos has the authority to stop the implementation of the fare hike, which would affect around 370,000 commuters daily.

Among those who filed the appeal were Bayan president Renato Reyes Jr. and Makabayan senatorial candidates Jerome Adonis of Kilusang Mayo Uno, Mody Floranda of Piston and Mimi Doringo of Kadamay.

They were joined by Mhing Gomez of Anakbayan and Nanoy Rafael of the commuter group PARA.

They maintained that the fare hike was “arbitrary and unjustified,” saying the only justification was a contractual obligation by the government to raise fares by 10.25 percent every two years.

In response, Malacañang said suspending the fare increase may not be possible as it would violate the government’s contract with the LRT-1 operator.

“Even if the administration wants it deferred, it is in the contract. If I am not mistaken, the fare increase should have been implemented a long time ago,” Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said at a press briefing. “It was put on hold for the sake of commuters.”

Castro said not implementing the government’s contract with the Light Rail Manila Corp. (LRMC), concessionaire of the LRT-1, would cause a problem.

Starting tomorrow, the minimum fare for the LRT-1 will go up to P20 from P15 for single journey tickets.

The fare for an end-to-end trip (from Fernando Poe Jr. station in Quezon City to Dr. Santos station in Parañaque) will increase to P52 from P43 for stored value cards and P55 from P45 for single journey tickets.

The fare increase approved by the DOTr was lower than the petition filed by LRMC.

Meanwhile, Michael Capati took over as Metro Rail Transit Line 3 general manager yesterday.

He was appointed to the post by Marcos on March 26. — Ghio Ong