Various sectors allied with Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) Metro Manila staged a protest at España Philippine National Railways (PNR) station in Manila, March 10, to call the Aquino government to ‘Stop’ the impending fare increase, ‘Look’ at the poor condition of people, and ‘Listen’ to their demand against privatization. The group’s call was patterned after the famous train warning signs ‘Stop, Look, Listen’.
“In just the span of two months, the Aquino government adds up burden to the already loaded shoulders of the Filipino commuters who are dependent in our train systems,” Bayan said in a statement, referring to the 50 to 87 percent fare hike in Light Rail Transit (LRT) and Metro Rail Transit (MRT) last January.
The proposed fare hike for PNR would raise fares by P10 to P15, resulting to P60 from the current P45 increase of 56-kilometer trip from Tutuban, Manila to Calamba, Laguna.
According to PNR General Manager Joseph Allan Dilay, the fare hike will be used to pay the railway’s outstanding debts, as PNR only earns half of its operations costs. According to government data, the railway spends P683 million yearly but only earns P330 million through passenger fares.
The PNR, however, was allocated P2.3 billion subsidy in the 2015 budget for its rehabilitation and repair projects. But PNR officials said that the budget is not enough to provide for the operations and maintenance of the train system.
On the other hand, Riles Network Chairperson Sammy Malunes said the fare increase cannot be justified as it will only further burden the lives of the riding public who are mostly workers and students. The PNR caters to 24 million passengers per year.
“Ang mananakay ng PNR ay mga manggagawa na minimum wage earners din at mga estudyante. Dagdag pahirap ito lalo’t wala rin namang dagdag na sahod. Kaya dapat tignan ito ng gobyerno [The passengers of PNR are minimum wage workers, and students. It is an additional burden since there is no wage increase. That’s why the government must look into it],” Malunes said.
Malunes suggested that the government should instead fully subsidize the operations of PNR rather than deal with private corporations to provide for the railway’s modernization.
“Kailangan nating ibalik sa role ng pamahalaan ang mass transport para mabilis ‘yung pagdaloy ng ating transportasyon at maibsan yung lumalalang trapiko sa Metro Manila [We need to bring back to the government its role to provide for mass transport, in order to accelerate the flow of transport, and to ease the increasing problem in traffic],” added Malunes.
On the other hand, Gloria Bongon, spokesperson of #StrikeTheHike Network, lambasted the on-going privatization of social services through Public-Private Partnerships, especially of the mass transport system.
“Similar to the MRT and LRT fare hikes, the PNR fare hike will not benefit our riding public but will only serve the best interests of big local private business and giant foreign creditors,” Bongon said.
On November 2014, PNR officials contracted a consortium with private companies Miescorrail, Inc. and Desco Inc. for the rehabilitation and modernization of the PNR.
Public consultation?
On February 26, a public consultation on the proposed fare hike was made between PNR officials and some 30 commuters at the PNR executive building in Manila.
PNR general manager Dilay presented to commuters the reasons for such increase and insisted that the train line is still cheaper compared to other forms of transportation. He also said that this is the first time in 20 years that the railway will increase its fares.
However, Malunes, who was also present during the consultation, criticized the consultation as mere presentation of the hike, saying that the proposed fare increase was already approved by the PNR board even before the consultation. He said that most of the passengers did not approve of the fare increase.
“Kung maglulunsad ng konsultasyon dapat pakinggan ang mga mananakay. Sa lahat ng mananakay dun wala namang nagsabi na payag sila (sa pagtaas). Lahat sila ay tumututol dahil kitang kita nila ‘yung kabulukan ng serbisyo eh [If we are going to hold a consultation, we should listen to the passengers. All the passengers who were present in the consultation did not approve of the increase. All of them dissent the increase because they can see how bad the service is],” Manlunes said.
More protests to come
According to Bongon, the public may expect more protests to come to oppose the fare increase.
“Sa mga susunod na araw, bawat istasyon ay magkakaroon ng protesta at pagkilos para iparamdam o ipaalam sa mga mananakay yung napipintong pagtaas ng pasahe [In the coming days, there will be a protest in each station, to inform the riding public of the impending fare hike],” Bongon said.
A signature campaign was also launched to stop the proposed fare increase and garner support from the discontented train commuters who would be greatly affected by the fare increase.
