Cabbies’ PITX lament
Taxicab drivers serving passengers at the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX) are protesting the string of fees they are made to pay to get passengers, which leaves them with a small amount to bring home.
“Queuing fees… then we have to pay the mall owner and the fee for using the PITX. We end up the big losers. Most of the bus passengers from the provinces arrive in the morning, but we get in line the evening before, hoping that we will earn a little. The problem is we can’t back out when we’re already in the queue,” a cabbie told DAILY TRIBUNE.
In 2021, Megaworld Corp.’s terminals arm, Township Transport Terminal Inc., signed a memorandum of understanding with PITX for a terminal interconnection.
Cabbies at the PITX are resorting to the “pasabay” scheme to break even, in which two passengers with two different destinations are taken on through what is termed a contract, or with the meter turned off.
“Although it’s illegal, we have to take a chance to earn a little more. Sometimes we agree to double the meter rate just to get by,” the cabbie revealed.
Passengers are usually given stubs by PITX personnel to guard against cabbie abuses, but the reality is that the multiple charges that drivers are made to pay are contributing to the illegal practices on the road.
No POGO, no problem
Not all is lost for the property sector after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s ban on all forms of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) takes effect by the end of the year.
The exit of POGOs is even considered a positive thing as it will finally lift an overhang on the property sector. Uncertainties over POGOs were among the factors that caused a de-rating of the sector.
As POGOs exit the country, the office segment stands to be affected the most, as vacancy rates could rise to an estimated 24 percent from 19 percent currently. Based on sector players’ base case scenario of around 20-percent vacancy rate for Metro Manila, it would take about 7.4 years to absorb the unlet space in the market. A total POGO ban would extend the absorption to almost nine years, which means it will be a tenant market for much longer.
Also, the impact on the residential segment should be more muted. A market simulation showed that from a current vacancy rate of 13.2 percent for housing units, a total POGO ban will result in only a 0.1-point increase in the vacancy rate.
With an annual take-up of some 58,000 housing units per year in Metro Manila, or 23,000 for condos specifically, the market can easily absorb any vacancy increase stemming from the POGO exit.