Drivers are losing P1,500 a day, group says as transport strike starts

MANILA, Philippines — Transport group Manibela on Thursday pushed back against complaints over its proposed fare increase, saying drivers are losing big because of soaring fuel prices. On the first day of the nationwide transport strike on Thursday, March 26, Manibela Chairman Mar Valbuena said each driver is losing about P1,500 in daily income. “You are affected only once or twice, but for us, each driver loses P1,500 in income every day,” Valbuena said. He said that even if commuters take four rides a day, the added cost from the proposed increase would amount to about P10 to P12. “If you compare that with the P1, P2, or P3 fare increase that we are asking for, and let us say you ride four times a day, that is only P12, only P10, while for us we lose thousands,” he said. Valbuena said commuters should also share the burden being carried by drivers as fuel prices continue to eat into their earnings. “I hope we share the responsibility. If you are saying this reduces your income, it affects us even more,” he said. He also took a swipe at the government’s free ride trucks, saying some passengers were no longer able to get to work. “There are no more passengers, they were no longer able to get to work. Will that (truck) fight a war? What do you think of the people? Trash?” he said in Filipino.

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