Dear Sir Bobby Nalzaro,
Good day.
I am your avid follower. I wrote this letter not to praise Pinoy inventiveness in transforming six-wheeler trucks into an alternative convenient high speeding minibuses that ply from Cebu City to other cities and towns of Cebu province. Though I consider Cebu's minibus as the “Modern day King of the Road”.
I wrote this to expose malpractice(s) of Carcar City-bound minibus operators with the hope that you'll smash their heads with a pile of solid concrete slabs or lambast them in your newspaper's columns and daily radio commentaries. This is not actually new to the daily and weekly commuters of Naga, San Fernando and Carcar City. I understand this would not send shudder, shiver or tremble to operators' spines for commuters have complained but they pay no heed to them.
Nonetheless, I believe that media have more teeth than a wage-earner, a freshman student or a wrinkled senior citizen to compel LTO and LTFRB or even Gov. Gwen Garcia to act on the matter.
I actually thought of sending this issue to GMA's Imbestigador or ABS-CBN's XXX so this illegal act will be caught and documented by hidden surveillance cameras and be given nationwide attention. Though I am not a Cebuano, I opted to spare Cebu from the bad news and write you, instead.
Fare/Price Fixing
What I know (correct me if I'm wrong) is no Public Utility Vehicle (PUV) can refuse to accept any passenger whose drop-off point is within the PUV's route. The passenger also should only pay the exact fare corresponding to the distance he traveled which is stipulated in the LTFRB-issued Fare Matrix.
But on Saturday afternoon and evening trips going south, Carcar City-bound minibuses fix the fare at P35 per person. This is 17% higher than the regular fare for Carcar City from Cebu City. The most controversial is whether your drop-off point is in Naga or San Fernando, you ought to shell out P35.
If you give P25, the regular fare for San Fernando, to the conductor, he'll ask for another P10. Masuko pa kung di ka mohatag. You'll give him P50, he'll give you P15 as your change. Thus, you demand for an explanation. You know, of course, he can't offer you a valid reason except that he'll say, “Sabado man karon!” (It's Saturday!)”. Saturday, what!?!
So you'll insist for the right change. He'll keep to ignore you 'til you reach your destination and minibus speeds away to Carcar City with the conductor not giving you the rightful change.
The same things happen for your return trip on Monday morning. This situation repeats every week in every month.
I am sure you'll concur with me that this is blatant extortion and “robbery-in-broad-daylight”.
We, the riding public including students and senior citizens, are forced to pay up to 50% more of what should be paying. Aren't students and senior citizens entitled to a 20% discount on their fare as mandated by law?
I am also surprised by the inaction of my co-passengers. I expected them to back me when I insist for my change and to assert also their rights. They, I surmise, are immune to the injustices of these operators.
No Ticket
Minibus should issue trip tickets to their passengers. Carcar City-bound minibuses don't. Dumanjug-bound do. What's the difference?
I presume this is the reason why passengers can't lodge a complaint against them for lack of documentary evidence which in this case the trip ticket will do.
GMA's Imbestigador, perhaps, can help provide video footage of this anomaly.
Discrepancy
I also noticed that the fare matrix bore a different plate number of the vehicle. Plate number of the vehicle are written in pentel pen by LTFRB on every fare matrix they issue. It must correspond.
Inaction
Authorities like LTO and LTFRB has never acted on this issue. I met this problem last year and I am still a victim of it this year. I presume complaints have reached their offices for this is a more-than-a-year problem.
Could we expect LTO and LTFRB agents to religiously work on Saturday and catch these people, anyway?
I strongly hope that through your columns and commentaries, authorities will heed this issue and put an end to it.
I really would like to see these human leeches/minibus operators fined at least P100,000 and their franchise revoked by LTFRB so they'll learn their lesson the hard way.
I know Cebuanos are not extortionists. This activity, however, is utterly DISGUSTING!
Thank you and more power to you, Sir Bobby!
Yours truly,
Roadrunner of Mindanao
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