(my assignment in investigative journalism)
“… Ganito rin po ang nangyari sa MRT. Sinubukan na namanag bilhin ang ating pagmamahal. Pinilit ang operator na panatilihing mababa ang pamasahe, hindi tuloy magampanan ang garantiyang ibinigay sa operator na mababawi nila ang kanilang puhunan. Dahil ditto, inutusan ang Landbank at Development Bank of the Philippines na bilhin ang MRT. ANG PERA NG TAUMBAYAN, IPINAGPALIT SA ISANG NALULUGING OPERASYON.” —A part from President Noynoy Aquino’s State of the Nation Address.
My reaction to this as a commuter and a regular passenger of LRT Line 2, I don’t think it is reasonable. I have three points here: First, not all passengers of LRT and MRT are taxpayers; there are also students who use these railway systems primarily on their way to school. If P-NOY would say that there is urgency in implementing the fare hike, I think it would be way over board. Php60 is the actual fare for a passenger on a one-way trip of MRT and the present fare is Php15 now, the government subsidies or shoulders Php45 each passenger, where would the students get this additional expense? Of course, to their parents who basically gets more expenses including electricity, phone bills, water, food and even their own taxes. Second, million passengers ride LRT and MRT a day. If you were to ask me why I use LRT2 on my way to school? It is simply because riding a jeep instead of LRT is no longer applicable for me. I travel from Marikina to Pureza and I have a class at 7:30am, LRT would take me to school in 20mins whereas in the jeepney I would spend long hours of sitting and pollution intake (traffic is not yet included).
As millions of passengers ride the LRT and MRT directs me to my third and last point. How can you say that the company is deficit if a lot of people—millions of people including students, workers and senior citizens use this railway system on a regular basis? And annually the numbers of passengers increase? And in addition, the advertisements seen in each train? There must be other reasons why operators still can’t regain the capital they used for this railway system.
So I say, LRT and MRT are very helpful and that the fare hike is unreasonable and unfair not only for a student like me who only rely to my parents and has Php120 allowance a day but to normal citizens as well.
