COMPASSION should not be limited to lip service through press releases, according to the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), in reference to transport terminal fees being collected from public utility vehicles.
This comes as LTFRB chairman Vigor Mendoza appealed to mall owners and operators to reduce the fees it has been charging on transport terminals within its grounds.
For one, tycoons who own malls can absorb such ‘losses’ with their wide revenue streams.
Interestingly, mall operators have so far shown their cooperation with the government’s effort to conserve energy by shortening their mall operating hours.
Other malls have gone ahead with their solar panels as additional– if not alternative energy sources to light up their spaces and provide mall goers with ease of navigating such spaces through escalators, elevators and walkalators.
The LTFRB on Thursday asked mall operators and other establishment owners to cut terminal rental fees for public utility vehicles (PUVs) by at least 50 percent, as the government haggles to cushion the transport sector from the financial fallout amid surging global oil prices driven by the ongoing Middle East war.
Mendoza II previously said the LTFRB board has sent letters to owners and managers of establishments hosting PUV terminals, appealing for the rental reduction as a form of relief to operators struggling with mounting operational costs.
Public vehicles parking at malls in designated route areas are UV Express and vans, jeepneys, buses (which only picks up passengers but must leave at once to give space to incoming buses), and taxis.
“We have already sent letters to as many owners and managers of establishments with PUV terminals to reduce the rental fees as a way of assistance to the public transport sector,” Mendoza said.
All LTFRB regional directors have already been instructed to coordinate with terminal owners and operators within their respective jurisdictions. They were also directed to report developments as discussions continue on how to further extend assistance to the sector.
“The assistance that would be provided by the establishment owners will greatly contribute to easing the financial strain currently experienced by the transport sector,” Mendoza said, adding that the move would help sustain the delivery of reliable public transport services to commuters.
The national government has rolled out several relief measures for the transport sector, including an ongoing P5,000 fuel subsidy for drivers in Metro Manila and reductions in expressway toll fees.
The LTFRB has also separately asked government financial institutions to waive penalties for delayed monthly amortization payments on modern jeepneys.
“The national government is continuously finding ways to cushion the effects of this challenge. On the part of each and every Filipino, let the spirit of bayanihan and malasakit prevail for us to succeed in facing this economic challenge,” Mendoza averred.
During the transport strike of jeepney drivers, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) fielded buses and other transport vehicles to give free rides to commuters who were stranded by the strike.
The DOTr also told the Land Transportation Office and LTFRB to deploy available service vehicles for the free ride program.
The LTFRB said it had deployed 20 service vehicles, with 10 units assigned to the Fairview-Quiapo route and another 10 covering the SM Masinag-Quiapo corridor.
The LTO contributed 12 units to assist passengers at key points along Philcoa, Commonwealth, Aurora Boulevard, Monumento, Quirino Highway, and Fairview.
The vehicles from both agencies are separate from the buses earlier deployed by the Office of the President, the Philippine Coast Guard, the Police, and the Department of Energy, which are covering the routes of Philcoa-Cubao, Welcome Rotonda-Cubao, Lawton-Welcome Rotonda, Lawton- PITX, Nagtahan-Cubao, and Commonwealth-Fairview.
The DOTr said both agencies must continue the free ride service in the coming days even in the absence of a transport strike, to provide continued relief to commuters.
Transport groups staged strikes from Tuesday to Friday in protest to the suspension of the fare hike implementation.