“Sa mga gasolinahan na lang pumupunta ang kita ng mga drayber.”

This was the lament of Alliance of Concerned Transport Organizations (ACTO) President Efren de Luna when asked what public utility jeepney (PUJ) drivers think about the recent rollbacks of fuel prices.

He said the price cuts of the past weeks have been too miniscule to even matter. “Wala na talaga kaming kinikita,” De Luna said.

Local oil companies the past two weeks have imposed two price cuts, but these have only amounted to reductions worth P1 a liter on gasoline; P0.50 a liter on kerosene and P0.25 a liter on diesel.

The Manila Bulletin gathered that between April 6 and 13, pump prices were hiked by larger increments, totaling P1.50 a liter.

ACTO hasn’t been sitting idly while oil firms do their thing. Last March, the 365,000-member transport group filed before the Land Transportation and Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) a petition to raise minimum jeepney fare from the current P7 to P8.

A P0.50 provisional fare hike has also been requested while the LTFRB hears the petition, if only to provide some buffer for “suffering jeepney drivers,” as De Luna said.

But Fernando Martinez, chairman of the Independent Philippine Petroleum Companies Association (IPPCA), stressed that oil firms aren’t here to make life difficult for drivers and other consumers despite the disputed prices.