LTFRB Nixes Taxi Operators’ Motion to Suspend P10 Flagdown Rate Cut

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has denied the motion of the taxi operators to suspend the implementation of the reduction of Php 10 of the flagdown rate.

LTFRB Board Member Antonio Enrile Inton Jr. said the motion to suspend filed by the Philippine Integrated National Taxi Operators Association (Pintoa) and Metro Cebu Taxi Operators Association (MCTOA) was based on a wrong premise.

Inton said the rules of LTFRB is that provisional orders related to fare adjustments like the Php 10 flagdown reduction are immediately implementable upon publication in a newspaper of general circulation.

He said that since the Php 10-taxi flagdown was published last March 9, this was implemented right away.

The petition for the reduction of taxi flagdown rate was filed by Rep. Manuel Iway of Negros Oriental.

Before he became congressman, Iway, a Cebuano, used to be the director of the defunct Land Transportation Commission (LTC) and LTFRB board member.

The LTFRB in Manila ordered the reduction of flagdown rate by Php 10 because of the cheap fuel in the market.

Benjamin Ryan Yu of the Cebu Integrated Transport Service Cooperative (Citrasco) said he was saddened by the denial by LTFRB of Pintoa’s petition to suspend the implementation to reduce the fare.

“We will meet with all the members of MCTOA to get the consensus for our next move especially that the petition was submitted for decision already,” Yu said. (PNA) RMA/EB