* My article in BusinessWorld yesterday, July 4th 2019.
I regularly write on the monthly inflation rates of East
Asian economies, and since 2018 until May 2019, the Philippines has been the
“inflation valedictorian” of the region because our inflation rate is nearly
two to five times those of our neighbors.
Then I checked the country’s inflation by commodity
groups and by region. For 2019 Year to Date (YTD, January-May), these commodity
groups did not have big difference between Metro Manila and Philippine
inflation rates: food and non-alcoholic beverages; clothing and footwear;
housing, water, electricity, gas; furnishing, household equipment and
maintenance; health; communication; recreation and culture; and, restaurant and
miscellaneous goods and services.
Three commodity groups have big difference, considered
“outliers,” in Metro Manila versus the national this year (see table).
Inflation is lower in Metro Manila compared to overall
Philippines for alcoholic beverages and tobacco — perhaps there is more
smuggled tobacco and people shift to local drinks in the provinces. But
inflation is higher in Metro Manila for transport and education, meaning Metro
people endure more expensive mobility because of the insufficient supply of
safe, convenient transportation so they have to drive their cars or motorcycles
more often than necessary; and deflation in education in 2018 has ended and
reversed.
When I was in Cebu City last April with my two daughters,
among the things I noticed there was the difficulty and inconvenience of
getting Transport Network Vehicle Service (TNVS) cars, and the long waiting
time, so I was moving via taxi. And when I was in Bacolod City last December,
the same thing — there were insufficient TNVS cars. At least I had nieces there
who gave me rides.
It turns out that in Cebu, the Land Transportation
Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) originally accredited 3,000 TNVS, but
it wants to slash this number to half. For a big city like Metro Cebu
(including the cities of Lapu-lapu and Mandaue), having only 1,500 TNVS would
mean long waiting times, more inconvenience, and higher fares for people who
want TNVS quality service.
And in Bacolod, around there are 500 TNVS, and less than
10% of these were granted the needed Provisional Authority (PA) and Certificate
of Public Convenience (CPC) by the LTFRB, which does not act or grant their PA
and CPC applications.
I saw the letter to President Rodrigo R. Duterte by Primo
Morillo, Convenor of the TNVS Passenger Forum, an organization of largely young
urban professionals who travel either by TNVS or use their own vehicles. He
raised many valid issues from the perspectives of both commuters and car owners
who want to share a ride with commuters in a transparent, technology-enabled
and market-based pricing system.
The main mandate of the LTFRB is primarily the safety and
convenience of passengers and commuters, and the availability of various ride
options from entrepreneurs. Many passengers have spoken — they want more TNVS
because of safety, convenience, and transparency factors. Why is the LTFRB
going against the wishes of the commuters by reducing instead of raising the
supply of TNVS?
Some taxi companies have improved their services because
of more competition from TNVS, so why restrict further competition? The drivers
and owners of these TNVS are also Filipinos, not foreigners; they are mostly
micro- and small entrepreneurs like OFWs, not medium or big companies.
The LTFRB should not become a Land Transportation
Favoritism and Restrictions Board favoring the taxi and restricting competition
via TNVS. Passengers and the public benefit from more choices and options, in
service quality and pricing. Inflation in transportation can be tamed by more
competition.
---------------
See also:
BWorld 342, Rising welfarism, rising taxes, June 25, 2019
BWorld 344, Earthquakes and steel, July 04, 2019
No comments:
Post a Comment