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Vallacar Transit Inc. (VTI), operator of Ceres buses, announced on Thursday, March 19, that it has called off its implementation of fare increases across all its routes nationwide. The VTI announcement came a day after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the suspension of fare hikes, “In my opinion, because we still have problems due to the war in the Middle East, I said maybe this is not the time to raise fares for our countrymen,” Marcos said. The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) had initially granted a provisional fare hike for provincial public utility buses effective March 14. VTI said that, in compliance with the president’s directive, it will operate at the “previous fare rates, with no increases implemented.” Jade Marquez, VTI Media Relations Officer,...

Protestors in Bacolod are calling for the removal of tax on fuel.* Richard Caballero Jr. photoA leader of a transport group that staged a protest in Bacolod City on Thursday, March 19, said they agree with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s order to suspend a planned fare hike because it would be insufficient to address the crippling effects of rising fuel costs. Rodulfo Gardoce Jr., chairperson of the United Negros Drivers and Operators Center-Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (UNDOC-PISTON), said a measly fare hike of P1 to P2 would not provide a long-term solution. They are instead calling on the president to immediately suspend the excise tax and Value Added Tax (VAT) on fuel to bring down pump prices, he said. UNDOC-PISTON staged a protest in front of the no...

The Confederation of Sugar Producers Associations (CONFED) is strongly opposing a substitute Senate Bill proposing another amendment to the Biofuels Act of 2006.  The amendment will “allow the importation of biofuel components such as bioethanol and biodiesel regardless of the supply level of locally produced biofuel components, if the price of blended gasoline and/or diesel engine fuels is higher by at least 5 percent compared to pure gasoline and/or diesel engine fuels”, a press release from CONFED said Thursday, March 19.   The approval of the amendment will cause additional damage to the Sugar Industry, which at present is suffering from the effects of low millgate prices, CONFED President Aurelio Gerardo J. Valderrama said in letter Wednesday, March 18, to Senate President Vicente Sot...

SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona and NACUSIP President Roland C. de la Cruz (l-r) during a recent meeting in Congress.*The National Congress of Unions in the Sugar Industry of the Philippines–Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (NACUSIP-TUCP) on Thursday, March 19, said it stands firmly with Rep. Javier Miguel “Javi” Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) in denouncing the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) for its “campaign of misinformation and baseless blame-shifting.”Benitez on Wednesday, March 18, denied claims circulating online that a congressional hearing triggered the decline in sugar prices, saying the market downturn was caused by oversupply and policy decisions, not legislative oversight.He described the allegations as baseless and irresponsible, noting that th...