Through Senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito’s proposed amendments to the 2023 national budget, the Senate is set to restore funding that was removed from two of the country’s biggest railway projects and increase allocations for the expansion of specialty healthcare centers in key regions. With this move, the P40-billion slashed from the proposed budget of the North-South Commuter Railway Project will be restored, while the P10-billion funding removed from the first phase of the Metro Manila Subway Project will be reinstated. “Metro Manila’s public transportation system was recently ranked among the world’s worst. This is the reason why I fought to restore the budgets of the North-South Commuter Railways and the Metro Manila Subway Project,” he said. “This will not only be of convenience for all Filipino commuters but also a key driver for economic growth and development,” he added. At the same time, Ejercito, the principal sponsor of the Universal Healthcare Law, clinched P2.2 billion in additional funding for the Department of Health to expand its specialty healthcare centers. This budget hike is expected to cover specialty healthcare centers located at the Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center, Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center, Batangas Medical Center, Bicol Regional Hospital and Medical Center, Bicol Medical Center, Western Visayas Medical Center, Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center, Eastern Visayas Medical Center, Northern Mindanao Medical Center, and Southern Philippines Medical Center. As the sponsor of the Department of Migrant Worker’s proposed budget, Ejercito previously secured P1.115 billion in additional funding for the agency, around half of which will be used to fund the personnel, facilities, equipment, and maintenance expenses of the OFW Hospital in Pampanga. The other half will be allocated for the Overseas Employment and Welfare Program and other operational expenses. Moreover, Ejercito sought to add P10 billion to the budget of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to support projects under Horizon 2 of its ongoing modernization program. In a previous statement, he said the AFP modernization program will be crucial in deterring China’s aggression in the West Philippine Sea.
November 16, 2022
Senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito on
Wednesday urged the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Light Rail
Transit Authority (LRTA) to consult commuters amid possible fare increases for
the LRT-1 and LRT-2.
Ejercito said commuter groups should be
adequately consulted, as the LRTA said its “conditional approval” of the fare
hike will still have to be referred to the Land Transportation Franchising and
Regulatory Board (LTFRB).
According to Ejercito, LRTA administrator
Atty. Hernando T. Cabrera said this is “in compliance with the consultation
process required by the LRTA Charter.”
“Once the LTFRB submits its comments, the LRTA
(through the Board) and the Department of Transportation (DOTr), being both
Grantors (for the concession agreement covering LRT 1), will then finally
approve the fare increase by submitting the same to the DOTr Rail Regulatory
Unit in compliance with the required regulatory process,” Cabrera explained.
From the recommendation of the LRTA Committee
on Fare Adjustment, the LRTA Board approved the fare increase for LRT 1 with a
Boarding Fare of P13.29 from the existing P11.00 plus the existing Distance
Fare of P1.00 to P1.21 per kilometer.
With the approval of the fare increase for LRT
1, the LRTA Board decided to impose the same fare hike for LRT 2, Cabrera
revealed.
He said the conditional approval of “the fare
hike for LRT 1 and LRT 2 was in response to the request for fare adjustment of
the Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC), the private concessionaire that
operates the LRT 1.”
The LRMC had been the private concessionaire
of the operation, maintenance and rehabilitation of the existing LRT 1 in Metro
Manila and its extension in Cavite since October 2, 2014 when it signed the
Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Concession Agreement with the then Department
of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) and the LRTA as Grantors.
Cabrera added that the LRTA management had
also requested the fare hike to ease government subsidy for LRT 2 and to have
ready funds for necessary rehabilitation, upgrading and extension projects.
The last fare adjustment for LRT 1 and LRT 2
happened on January 14, 2015. In that fare adjustment, both lines charged a
base fare of P11 plus P1.00 for every kilometer.
In 2016, 2018 and 2020, the LRMC filed its
petition for fare increase but the LRTA did not act on them. This year, the
LRMC petition for fare increase is still pending until finally affirmed by the
LTFRB and approved by the DOTr Rail Regulatory Unit.
The LRT 1 is an 18.7-km railway line from
Roosevelt, Balintawak, Monumento, 5th Avenue, R. Papa, J.A. Santos,
Blumentritt, Tayuman, Bambang, D. Jose, Carriedo, Central, United Nations, P.
Gil, Quirino, V. Cruz, Buendia, Libertad, Edsa and Baclaran. On a daily basis,
there are more than 270,000 passengers riding the LRT 1 at present.
The LRT 2 train runs on the 16.56-km railway
line from Recto, Legarda, Pureza, V. Mapa, J. Rizal, Gilmore, Betty Co, Cubao,
Anonas, Katipunan, Santolan, Marikina to Antipolo and vice versa, currently
serving some 125,000 passengers daily.
