Jeepney fare hike temporary, Palace assures

Malacañang advised the commuting public to take the brunt of the impending jeepney fare hike and assured that it would only be temporary.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo made the statement after it was reported that the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) approved a R2 jeepney fare increase starting November 3.

In his press briefing Thursday, Panelo said that the Palace is hoping that everything would return to normal once "everything settles down."

"The message is always, this is just temporary. So hopefully when everything settles down, babalik tayo sa dati (We will come back to where we were before)," he said.

"We really have to take the brunt sa ngayon (for now). But if you notice, there have been changes of prices in the market. They're slowly tapering," he added.

"Sa palagay ko tama ang sinasabi ng economic managers - hindi naman ito permanente (I think the economic managers are right that this is not permanent)," he continued.

The LTFRB made permanent provisional fare hike of R1 in July this year and granted another increase of R1, increasing the minimum jeepney fare to R10 from the previous R8.

The LTFRB, however, denied the request of transport groups for a one-peso increase for every succeeding kilometer after the first four kilometers due to lack of factual and reasonable basis.