NEWS RELEASE
02 January 2015
The labor group Partido Manggagawa
(PM) has found another reason to oppose the impending fare hike in the metro
rail system upon learning that government obligations to subsidize the travel
budget of public officials has been increasing by at least P1.5 billion every
year since 2011.
Fares in the MRT/LRT systems shall
increase by up to 87% beginning Sunday, January 4.
“Clearly, there is a tale of
inequality in this issue. First, the fare hike, as admitted by Sec. Abaya
himself, is meant not for service upgrade but mainly for debt payments to an
onerous contract with a private concessionaire. Second, the budget cut is
imposed against poor commuters while travel budget for public officials keeps
on increasing,” said PM
spokesman Wilson Fortaleza.
According to Fortaleza, while
Malacanang has uncaringly decided to remove the P7 to P10-B subsidy to millions
of train riders, purportedly to re-channel the freed budget to other social
services, it resourcefully kept on increasing the travel budget of public
officials by at least P1.5-B every year.
He explained that based on the
Summary of Obligations of the National Government, CY 2013-2014 posted at the
Department of Budget and Management (DBM) website, travelling expenses in 2011
amounted to P7.8-B; P9.3-B in 2012 and P11.8-B in 2013.
Under the general provisions of
the General Appropriations Act, Travelling
Expenses is defined as payment of claims for
reimbursement of travelling and related expenses incurred in the course of
official travel by officials and employees of the government. They may include
free air, land and sea travel, fuel subsidy, hotel accommodations, and even
parking fees.
“Compared to a daily crushing
ride at MRT, the billions of pesos of taxpayers’ money appropriated for
travelling expenses provided safe and comfortable travel to our public
officials, many of whom do not utilize the mass transport system,” said
Fortaleza.
The labor group disclosed further
that VIP’s in government shall enjoy a good amount of privileges from the more
or less P15-B of travelling expenses allotted for 2015. They include the
following:
Office
Office of the
President
Office of the Vice President
23,900,000
House of
Representatives
The
Senate
The Supreme
Court
Likewise the heads of government
agencies enjoy big amounts of travel budgets this year. Fortaleza cites, for instance, the Office of
Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya of the Department of Transportation and
Communications (DOTC), the agency that oversees the operations of the MRT and
LRT system enjoying a travel budget of P69.9 million or P192,000 a day.
Meanwhile the Office of the
Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP), a small office under the
Office of the President, is getting a 38% increase in travel budget amounting
to P123,410,000 or P338,000 a day.
Travelling expense, according to
PM, is a major part of the government’s maintenance and other operating
expenses (MOOE) and forms part of the many perks and privileges public
officials enjoy in the performance of their duties and responsibilities.
“Workers cannot ask for the
same privileges unless we ourselves run this government. It is absolutely
just and fair, however, to demand better treatment amid the comfort and
affluence of our rulers,” concluded Fortaleza .
The group called on train riders
to express their opposition to the fare hike in various forms such as official
petitions, social media campaign, and direct actions.
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