The successive big-time oil price hikes have reduced the operations of modern jeepneys in Metro Manila from 9,000 units to a mere 1,000, with diesel costs reaching as high as P5,000 to P6,000 per day, a transport group said Friday.

National Federation of Transport Cooperative national chairperson Misael Melinas stressed that they cannot afford to sustain operations of the entire fleet, as they are also paying high monthly amortizations on each unit, in addition to the daily salaries of drivers and conductors.

As a result, the usual weekly rotation for drivers has been reduced from four days to three or twice a week.

“Our operators have already lowered their boundary, but they still can’t afford it. That’s why the ones who drive the jeepneys are the operators themselves, so that instead of [getting only a] boundary, they keep the total earnings,” Melinas said in a radio interview.

Despite this, driver-operators earn only P300 to P500 in take-home pay a day, which Melinas said was grossly insufficient to make ends meet, let alone replenish the diesel fuel for the next day.

Rollback anticipated

After a month-long series of mega spikes in fuel prices brought about by the conflict in the Middle East, motorists could see a rollback in petroleum prices next week as global oil prices plunged following the United States and Iran reaching a two-week conditional ceasefire.

Initial estimates showed that diesel could drop by P5.50 to P6.50 per liter, while gasoline may dip by P1 per liter.

However, Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said petrol prices are not expected to return to pre-war levels anytime soon, given the damage to energy facilities in the Middle East, which would take years to rebuild.

Oil industry experts shared a similar observation, though Dr. Renato de Castro, an international relations expert, projected that pump prices will likely “soften” gradually.

Garin averred that it would be a “problem” if oil prices do not return to pre-war levels despite the truce, but pointed out that “having foresight” could significantly help the Department of Energy to anticipate or forecast future trends in the oil and gas industry.

“There has been a reported trend since the ceasefire began, but as you know it happened again — they’ve started bombing each other anew. That’s why I don’t want to speculate on prices; it’s something the DoE cannot control,” Garin said in Filipino in a radio interview.

The Philippines has been greatly affected by the US-Israeli war on Iran, as it imports 95 to 98 percent of its oil from the Middle East.