Sen. Grace Poe: Imposition of MRT, LRT fare hike ‘treacherous’ move

As commuters start feeling on Sunday the effect of fare hike for the Metrorail systems, Senators Grace Poe and Francis Escudero chided the Department of Transportation of Communications for failing to inform the Senate about the fare increase during deliberations for the 2015 national budget.

In a radio interview, Poe criticized the DOTC’s decision to announce the fare hike last December as it was “akin to a traitorous move” because it was done after Congress ratified the P2.6-trillion new spending plan."

Poe stressed that the 2015 national budget has multibillion-peso allocations for subsidies and rehabilitation of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) and the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) systems.

“Parang patraydor ang kanilang galaw...  Bakit humingi pa sila sa Kongreso ng mga iba’t ibang subsidy? Sana sinabi na nila sa amin noon na may plano silang magtaas ng pamasahe, kaso, hindi nila ginawa,” she told dzBB radio.

For his part, Escudero, who heads the Senate finance committee, said in a separate radio interview the DOTC never raised its plan to hike fares at any time during the budget hearings.

“Ang subsidiyang ibinigay ng Kongreso sa kanila ay naka-base sa lumang pamasahe sa MRT at LRT. Noong dinidinig sa Senado ang budget, hindi napag-usapan na may pagtataas ng singil para sa MRT at LRT,” he said.

An examination of the 2015 General Appropriations Act signed recently by President Benigno Aquino showed that that national budget allocates P7.4-billion for the rehabilitation of the MRT, and another P4.65 billion for its subsidy.

A further search showed that the 2014 supplemental budget contains a P1.2-billion allocation for MRT rehabilitation and capacity extension, and P727.6 million for the rehabilitation of LRT lines 1 and 2.

Due to the P1 increase in the base fares and another P1 per additional kilometer of the LRT and MRT systems, a ride on LRT-1 from Baclaran to Roosevelt now costs P29, while commuters need to shell out P24 for a one-way trip on LRT-2 from Santolan to Recto.

A trip from North Avenue to Taft Avenue via the MRT-3, on the other hand, now costs P28 from the previous P15.

No basis for fare hike

Poe called out to DOTC for implementing the fare hike at a time when the agency has yet to fix all the glitches bugging the railway systems in recent months.

“Kung magtataas man, sana ayusin nila ang serbisyo. ‘Pero ngayon ‘yung mismong imbentaryo ng parts for maintenance hindi nila maayos, at masama pa rin ang serbisyo,” she said.

On the other hand, Escudero said the government should work on improving the two railway systems first before increasing fares.

“Financially at practically, walang basehan [ang fare hike]. Wala rin itong benepisyo sa mga mamamayan,” he said.

While Poe admitted that only the court can stop the implementation of the fare hike, she vowed to ask DOTC officials led by Transportation Sec. Joseph Emilio Abaya to justify the need for higher fares when Congress resumes sessions on Jan. 19.

Unacceptable

Kabataan party-list Rep. Terry Ridon also slammed the fare hike as “unacceptable” because it is an additional burden to workers and students who need to deal with the rising prices of basic commodities and utilities.

In a statement, Ridon said, “The fare hikes for the LRT 1, LRT 2 and MRT-3 are unconscionable, especially at a time when our nation is recovering from major disasters, and at a time when workers’ wages remain grossly insufficient to even cover for basic needs.”

He agreed with the observation that the DOTC has no basis for increasing the train fares.

According to him, under the “farebox method” – or the proportion of fare revenues to the total operational costs of trains – MRT operational cost and maintenande (O&M) per passenger was only P9.11, which is P0.89 to P5.89 less than the P10 to P15 fares charged until recently.

“No less than the DOTC admitted that bulk of the expenses that the government shoulders for the train systems go to guaranteed profits of private counterparts and debt payment. If we look at the data closely, O&M costs can already be covered by the P10-P15 fare rates. There is a shortage of funds due to the government’s onerous debts,” Ridon said.

In a radio interview last week, Abaya said the additional revenue from the MRT fare hike will go to the escrow account set aside for the payment of the government's multimillion-peso monthly dues to the MRT Corporation, the railway line’s private owner, under the build-lease-transfer agreement. — Xianne Arcangel/LBG, GMA News