DOTr weighs fee cuts as fuel spike hits airfares

The Department of Transportation (DOTr)​ is weighing cuts to landing and take-off fees to ease soaring travel costs ahead of Holy Week, as airlines and passengers reel from higher fuel prices triggered by the ongoing Middle East crisis.

At a media briefing on Wednesday, Acting Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez said he has asked attached agencies of the DOTr to explore measures to help stabilize any expected airfare increase.

“We have meetings with the airlines, we know they will be affected by this, and we are thankful that they are still holding on,” Lopez said.

“Even so, there are mitigating measures; one of the things we are looking at is whether we can lower some fees like landing and takeoff fees, the ones we are considering adjusting and that will ripple down to airfare, at least we can stabilize it somehow,” he added.

Lopez said the exact amount of any potential fee reduction is still being studied, and the proposal will be submitted for board approval next week.

Meanwhile, to help ease the financial impact of soaring fuel prices, the DOTr said it is coordinating with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), the Department of Information and Communications Technology, and the Department of Interior and Local Government to roll out complementary measures for public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers, including subsidies and toll discounts.

Trike drivers first to get aid

Lopez noted that tricycle drivers in Metro Manila will be the first to receive the P5,000 fuel subsidy starting next week, 17 March, followed by jeepney, taxi, Transport Network Vehicle Service, and bus operators.

“The order to us is not to allow the situation to worsen, and a whole-of-government approach is needed, and that was discussed in our meeting earlier,” Lopez said.

Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian assured drivers outside Metro Manila that they will also receive subsidies.

“We will just kick off in Metro Manila, but one after the other, that will happen, it will not take long. One after the other, that will happen since the DSWD has nationwide offices that will do simultaneous payouts,” he said.

Lopez added that toll operators have agreed to discounts for Class 3 vehicles, including buses and trucks, to help offset the impact of the Middle East oil crisis.

“We are thankful to our toll operators who agreed, because we did the numbers, like for buses, they will save P5 to P7, and for a hundred liters, there is 7,000 that will be saved. So, those are the other things we are talking about, non-cash and other interventions and measures being done by the national government,” he said.

Fare hikes for some PUVs are still under review to support drivers, with the LTFRB expected to finish evaluating petitions this week.

“Hopefully, as LTFRB Chair Vigor Mendoza said, he will finish within the week the study on fare hike petitions.

So I am telling the LTFRB now, I returned their first recommendation, study it carefully because we have to treat this very carefully with an abundance of caution. So instead of helping the most and everyone, maybe we will just add to the problem,” Lopez said.

Gasoline prices jumped by around P7.00 to P11.00 per liter this week, the largest weekly increase in the country, according to Energy Undersecretary Alessandro O. Sales.

Diesel rose P17.50 to P24.25 per liter, while kerosene climbed from P32.00 to P38.50 per liter.

Oil firms, including Shell, Petron, Chevron, Jetti, and Seaoil, are rolling out the hikes gradually, with daily increments of P1.00 to P5.00 per liter over several days.