Prov’l board set to review measure EVEN if fuel prices are being rolled back by oil companies for five straight weeks now, members of the Laoag City Sangguniang Panlungsod unanimously approved a P1 fare increase in the city. According to Laoag Councilor Primo Jay S. Ramos, transportation committee chair, the fare increase is timely as he cited that the reason they approved the proposal was because of the continued increase of pump prices of fuel. The said increase would affect tricycles and calesas operating in the city. Ramos explained that although calesas do not actually use gasoline, he said the calesa operators had also asked for a fare increase reasoning that maintenance of their carriages had also become expensive. The three-term councilor added that the proposal for fare increase had been requested for a long time now. The fare increase however would only take effect after a final review of the measure to be conducted by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan and the measure’s subsequent publication in a local newspaper. The ordinance increasing fare rates of tricycles and calesas had been based from existing city Ordinances No. 2006-082 and 2006-80, respectively, as amended. With the new fare increase, Ramos clarified that students, senior citizens and persons with disabilities will now have a P2 discount from the approved P8 regular rate as the 20 percent discount had been rounded off. Ramos also appealed to the riding public to understand the predicament of tricycle drivers and operators as well as calesa operators considering the high prices of gasoline and spare parts. The new fare rate is P8 for the first three kilometers and an additional P0.50 for every kilometer thereafter. Meanwhile, Ramos also said that the proposed tricycle fare increase for tricycles operating in rural barangays is still being studied by the members of the council’s transportation committee and would also go through the same process wherein a public hearing would be conducted. Laoag Vice Mayor Marlon Wayne D. Manuel, the council’s presiding officer, said the fare increase approval was the consensus of the city council. Nevertheless, he appealed to tricycle drivers and calesa kutseros to also understand the situation of the riding public by not overcharging them. “Ngem no para kaniyak kuma ket saan kuma ngem gapu ta isu met iti consensus ket ana ngarud. Ta no P8, saan tayun a mapadublen kadagitay traysikelan ta medyo tagidaksenen dagiti riding public iti P16 nukwan no mapadoblen wherein P1 matters a lot nowadays,” Manuel said. Manuel believes the effectivity of the fare increase would probably be next month if the provincial board would immediately act on the said measure and if the required publication would be fulfilled. Dominic B. dela Cruz
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