CA junks petition on taxi fare cut

The Court of Appeals (CA) has junked the petition of a transport group to stop the P10 provisional cut on the flagdown rate of taxi services. In a five- page resolution, the 13th Division of the appellate court dismissed for being premature the petition filed by 1-United Transport Koalisyon (1-UTAK) party-list group assailing the reduction on the P40 taxi flag-down rate imposed by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) in March. The CA held that the petitioner failed to exhaust all legal remedies before elevating the case to the court.

The group’s motion for reconsideration remains pending with the LTFRB, it said.

“The petitioner is bound by procedural rules and may not disregard the same. It is not up to the petitioner to preempt the LTFRB’s action on its motion for reconsideration,” read the ruling penned by Associate Justice Normandie Pizarro. Associate Justices Samuel Gaerlan and Ma. Luisa QuijanoPadilla concurred with the ruling. The CA said the group should have waited for the denial of its appeal with the LTFRB before filing a petition before the appellate court. In the petition, 1- UTAK sought the issuance of a temporary restraining order on the implementation of the P10 reduction on taxi flag-down rate. Last March, the LTFRB reduced taxi fares by P10 after weighing “the rights of transport operators vis- à- vis the interest of the commuting public, which is of paramount importance.” The LTFRB granted the petition for a taxi fare cut filed by Negros Oriental Rep. Manuel Iway in December 2014.