Jeepney operators acting like spoiled brats

"People want to see big, escapist fare. They don't want to be challenged to think."
--Harvey Weinstein

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- Because of rapid developments in the countryside, international conclaves like the ASEAN Summit and APEC Ministerial Meet could now be jointly held in thriving Visayas and Mindanao cities like Cebu, Iloilo, Bacolod, Dumaguete, Palawan, Cagayan De Oro, and Davao.
Imperial Manila could no longer claim exclusive domain to host some of the gigantic international events now that infrastructure, traffic and tourism have improved by leaps and bounds outside Luzon.
Some of the world's top hotel conglomerates have also expanded in the countryside, generating employment opportunities for local folks, and helping spruce up the local economy.
In as far as investment and toursim are concerned, this is some sort of renaissance for the hitherto "promdi" territories, which have been perpetually neglected and underestimated by past administrations after the EDSA Revolution.

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JEEPNEY operators in Iloilo City should stop acting like spoiled brats and consider the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board's (LTFRB) recommendation of a P.50 jeepney fare hike.
The increase is for the first five kilometers in Western Visayas and Negros Occidental. Another P1.50 will be included for every succeeding kilometer.
The current fare of P6.50 will become P7 if the 50-centavo increase is approved by the LTFRB central office.
But the Iloilo City Loop Alliance of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association (ICLAJODA) and Pinag-isang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operators Nationwide (PISTON-Panay chapter) are not satisfied.
They want another 50 centavos or P1.
They expressed their stand during the public hearing March 13 at the LTFRB-6 office in Barangay Tabuc Suba, Jaro district.

INSPIRE

They were probably inspired by LTFRB's recent decision to approve a P1 increase on minimum fares in Metro Manila and in Central Luzon and Southern Tagalog.
They must be slabbering for a "uniform" increase.
But Iloilo City is not Metro Manila. It is neither Central Luzon nor Southern Tagalog.
The LTFRB, after probably studying the increase's impact on local economy and the capacity of commuters, dangled only a P.50 hike.
Jeepney operators should remember that most of them are also parents. 
They are aware that LTFRB's 50-centavo fare increase will result only in P7 fare for regular passengers of public utility jeepneys (PUJs) and P5.50 for students, persons with disabilities (PWDs) and senior citizens.
Their demand, on the other hand, would mean regular commuters will have to fork out a minimum fare of P7.50 and P6.50 for students, PWDs and elderly citizens.
A 50-centavo difference is still 50 centavos.