Luzviminda Escobial, chief executive officer of the Northern Mindanao Federation of Transport Service Cooperatives, explaining the plight of transport operators amid high cost of fuel to Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board 10 Regional Director Alexis Joseph Bendijo, March 2, 2026. (Photo by: Jane Pingkian)
TheMonitroMindanaoToday.com | Normin transport group petitions for P5 fare hike
By: The Monitor Mindanao Today
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Transport operators and drivers are being cleaned out with high prices of fuel once they are on the road, compelling a transport group here to seek on Monday, March 9, for a five-peso increase on existing minimum fare rates.
Luzviminda Escobial, chief executive officer of the Northern Mindanao Federation of Transport Service Cooperatives, who led the filing of the petition before the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board Region 10, said that once granted the fare-rate adjustment is “provisional.”
Escobial said that once prices of petroleum products revert to their pre-Middle East crisis levels, the five-peso increment may be removed so minimum fare rates would be rolled back to what were fixed in October 2022.
Current minimum fare rates are set at P12 for “traditional jeepneys” and P14 for the air conditioned mini-buses or “modern jeepneys” for the first four kilometers.
Meantime, she announced that their member coops mostly operating with “modern jeepneys” would cut down the number of units on the road so as to reduce the daily fixed salaries to drivers. Coops, she said, cater to the same volume of passengers every single day.
Alexis Joseph Bendijo, LTFRB 10 regional director, assured Escobial the petition will be forwarded to their Central Office for thorough evaluation, together with other fare rate petitions across the country.
On that day, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) announced it has released P2.5 million for the Department of Transportation’s (DOTr) Fuel Subsidy Program. It is intended for the affected transport sector cushion the impact of the oil price hikes and charged from the regular budget of the DOTr.
Under the Fuel Subsidy Program, financial assistance amounting to P6,500 will be directly provided not only to affected jeepney drivers but also to qualified drivers of UV express, mini buses, buses, shuttle services, taxis, tricycles, and other full-time ride-hailing and delivery services nationwide.
The identified 377, 443 beneficiaries may claim the subsidy through cash cards from the Landbank of the Philippines, according to the DBM in a press statement.
The DBM shall continue to work closely with implementing agencies to ensure the timely release of funds for the execution of programs intended to help the most affected sectors. – Uriel Quilinguing
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