Transport group PISTON on Thursday criticized President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for suspending the approved fare hike instead of targeting what it says is the real driver of rising transport costs: fuel taxes.

PISTON president Mody Floranda said the administration should have prioritized suspending the value-added tax (VAT) and excise tax on petroleum products, measures the group has long pushed for.

“He should have suspended the tax on petroleum products, and not the fare hike,” Floranda said.

He added that drivers “will continue to bear the brunt” of soaring pump prices even if fares remain unchanged.

The government earlier ordered a halt to fare increases approved by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, citing the need to minimize the impact of volatile global oil prices on commuters.

But transport groups argue the freeze offers only superficial relief.

They say suspending fuel taxes would immediately bring down pump prices and help both drivers and the riding public at a time when oil costs have been rising for weeks due to tensions in the Middle East.

A bill allowing the President to suspend fuel excise taxes during price spikes is pending in Congress, but Malacañang has yet to indicate whether Marcos will exercise that authority once it reaches his desk.

Floranda said the administration’s decision “misses the point,” insisting that unless fuel taxes are addressed, drivers’ incomes will keep shrinking despite the fare hike suspension.