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“Corporations, which are by nature expected to recover the cost of their expenses and liabilities can raise the minimum fare without a public hearing.”
The overwhelming majority of Filipinos do not get any income tax benefits from TRAIN. Most of the country’s total 22.7 million families do not pay income tax because they are just minimum wage earners or otherwise in informal work with low and erratic incomes. Even if TRAIN reduces income taxes paid by most of the reported 7.5 million personal income taxpayers, this still leaves as much as 15.2 million families without any income tax gains.
“We welcome and appreciate the effort of Sen. Grace Poe. That’s what we want to hear from the government.”
The selling price of the new jeepneys the government wanted the operators to purchase ranged from P1.5 million to P1.6 million ($27,840 to $31.82). Under a seven-year loan package with interest, the final price would be more than P2 million each, making the government-vetted jeepney as costly as a sports utility vehicle.
The lack of support to agriculture has forced farmers to accept low pay, insecure informal work or odd jobs.
“The government is over-achieving in the reconstruction of roads and bridges and totally neglecting the needs of the victims.”
In a recent study of the ILO, it found out that 61 percent of all domestic workers in Asia were entirely excluded from labor protection, and only three percent enjoyed equal protection with other general workers.
“Our proposal details steps for the modernization and nationalization of our mass transport system. But Duterte personally rejected our request and instead told us to hold a two-month strike first, and he would give us a permit.” - Piston
“Why will jeepney operators accept indebtedness when the jeepneys they already have can be rehabilitated to fit the clean air, safety and other requirements of the government?”
It was Pres. Duterte himself who urged the drivers to go on a strike if they are indeed opposed to jeepney phaseout.
"We plan the protests to be participated in not just by transport groups but by various sectors, too, because commuters stand to pay the higher costs of this fake jeepney modernization.”
The House of Representatives has passed House Bill 6152 this week. It will allow employers to implement four-day or five-day workweek with workers still clocking in a total 48 hours of work per week. This would mean 9.6 hours to 12 work hours per day, without overtime pay.
“It’s as if they’re just playing with us workers.”
'If there is change you see it first in the Philippine economy'
Piston said most of the country’s jeepney drivers and operators are fine with upgrading and rehabilitating the jeepneys, but not in the total scrapping of it as advocated by the Transportation department.
“We want to be regularized (directly) under Harbour Centre and we have filed cases against (Grasials) agency, which has been defrauding us.”
The "Government has always been wary of providing the people with much needed support but is ever ready to ensure the profit of foreign investors through various forms of incentives including providing sovereign guarantees to private multinational corporations.”
"As it stays longers in power, the Duterte regime is turning out to be only full of empty promises."
Power generation companies have been assured their incomes even when they don’t have to deliver much power, as when they themselves are in scheduled shutdown, or when another source is supplying energy to the distributors.
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