Transport group PISTON National President Mody Floranda said the newly-implemented four-day workweek does not help the economy, as it decreases jeepney drivers’ earnings.
In an interview on Balansyado, Floranda said that the price of diesel has risen to almost ₱170 and the price of gasoline to nearly ₱120.
He believes President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s mandate to suspend the excise taxes on only liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and kerosene was not the right move, as the economy runs on diesel and gasoline.
The transport group head also said that reducing employees’ onsite working days is detrimental to both the transport sector and employees themselves, as their work hours tend to increase in the work from home setup.
“Lalong hindi ito makakatulong doon sa usapin ng ating ekonomiya sapagkat malaking epekto lalo na ang (pagbawas) sa apat na araw na trabaho ng ating mga manggagawa ay bagama’t sila’y nasa tahanan, nadadagdagan ‘yung kanilang oras ng pagtatrabaho na dating otso oras ay umaabot sila ng 14 hours,” he said.
As for the transport sector, Floranda explained that the less passengers public utility vehicles (PUVs) get, the less they earn.
“‘Yung pagdalang ng mga pasahero ay pagdalang din ng kita ng ating mga driver at operator,” he told the anchor.
“Kung wala pong kikitain ang ating mga driver, ay paano iikot ang ating ekonomiya, paano matutugunan ‘yung mga pangangailangan ng ating bansa?” he added.
Ultimately, the transport group was calling for the repeal of the Oil Deregulation Law and for the suspension of fuel taxes on all petroleum products, especially diesel and gasoline.
“‘Yung ating panawagan ang ‘yung pagbabasura dito sa Oil Deregulation Law at ‘yung pagtanggal sa excise tax—’yung ibalik sa halagang ₱55 ang diesel at ₱57 ang presyo ng gasolina,” Floranda said.
Earlier, Department of Finance (DOF) Undersecretary Carlo Adriano, a member of the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC), during a House inquiry that only the rich would benefit from the suspension of excise taxes on gasoline and diesel, as their consumption comprises 50 percent and 85 percent of the country’s supplies, respectively.
“So when you remove the excise tax on gasoline, and in the case for diesel, na 85 percent ‘yung share nung 3 richest decile na ‘yun, ang pinakamakikinabang nito is actually those richest decile. So ‘yun po ‘yung rationale ng recommendation ng DBCC,” Adriano said, adding that this was why they had also recommended a ₱10 discount per liter for PUVs.
He revealed that this ₱10 discount per liter was greater than the price cut gasoline and diesel would see if they were to suspend the excise taxes on both, which would only reduce the price by ₱6 per liter.
