EDITORIAL – Does a fare matrix lead to a Christmas bonus?

A lawyer, who is a keen observer of the world around us, has come forward with a very plausible theory about why the LTFRB insists on “selling” fare matrices instead of just giving them away for free as part of its mandate to serve the public.

According to the lawyer, the money the LTFRB makes from selling fare matrices, for anywhere from P350 to P500, is reflected in its books as “savings.” Such savings can then be legally divided among the agency’s employees during Christmas in the form of “bonuses.”

In effect, the hapless jeepney, bus and taxi drivers who need to display these fare matrices in order to collect fare increases are the ones who are paying for part of the bonuses that LTFRB employees receive at Christmas.

Now, in these very difficult times when oil prices keep changing every day and public utility drivers may need to periodically apply for upward adjustments in transport fares, how many times do you thing they will have to buy new fare matrices?

Everybody knows that public transport drivers have been agonizing under these very dire conditions. In fact, while the riding public normally used to greet petitions for fare hikes with disdain, now they are enduring the increases with quiet acquiescence and understanding.

If, as our lawyer friend concedes, the LTFRB needs to recover the cost of materials used in producing the matrices, such as the paper and the ink, then maybe the agency can charge something like P20 or P30. But to demand P350 to P500 is abusive and obscene.

The issuance of fare matrices is part and parcel of the duties of the LTFRB. It should not turn it into a business, especially since it takes advantage of a situation that has backed the sector it is supposed to serve into a corner.

Indeed, we find it strange that fare matrices are still required to collect fares when there is a process that is followed to adjust fares. Once the process has been complied with, the LTFRB is duty-bound to order a fare increase.

If regional wage boards have a similar process toward granting wage increases, and then issue corresponding orders after compliance without need for a wage matrix, why then cannot the LTFRB do the same? Is it because wage boards do not have Christmas bonuses?