This Week in Bacolod (January 12 to 18, 2020)

With the fine weather this week has to offer, people can enjoy outdoor weekend getaways. A quick but relaxing weekend outing with family and friends in Bacolod's tourist attractions is possible. The sun will definitely shine most of the days. There will be cloudiness and some rain but not enough to ruin your city tour. The temperature this week in Bacolod will run from 29°C to 31°C [1].

Transport groups in Bacolod will push for a fare hike following the 2020 excise tax increase on diesel [2]. This was confirmed by Jessie Ortega, Secretary-General of the Sentrong Samahan ng Tsuper at Operators sa Negros. According to Ortega, the Federation of Bacolod City Drivers Associations will push that the current fare of PhP8.50 for the first four kilometers be raised to PhP10. While the current base fare is PhP8.50, most jeepney drivers don’t bother asking the 50 cents due to lack of change.

Ortega mentioned that they will file a consolidated petition for a fare hike before the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board when the need arises. Under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN), the third tranche of excise tax will take effect this month. Once this tax takes effect, the retail price of unleaded gasoline will increase by P1 per liter and diesel by P1.50 per liter. There will also be an increase in the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

Jeepney fares are not the only ones seen to rise; fares for fastcraft and RORO vessels may also push through. Following the upward adjustments implemented by some oil companies, Weesam Express—one of the three fastcraft vessels at the Bacolod Real Estate Development Corp. (BREDCO) Port—stated that they may impose a PhP5 to PhP10 fare increase if prices would reach PhP45 per liter [3].

Fastcrafts currently have tickets ranging from PhP250 to PhP400 depending on the type of accommodation. For the RORO, the average fare per passenger is PhP70 to PhP80. Once the increase is implemented, the new fare rate for fastcrafts may increase to PhP260 to PhP410, while RORO vessels may see a fare jump of PhP80 to PhP110.

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