Wazzup Pilipinas News and Events

Thursday, December 12, 2013

BLTXIV: A New Beginning

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The fourth annual Better Living Through Xeroxography Small Press Expo and BLTX TALX II: Alternative Distribution Systems.

December 14, 2013 / Saturday / 2PM to 5PM / at the Lopez Library

Being an informal discussion on efforts to establish distribution systems alternative to the mainstream channels of bookstore red tape and monopolies!

Featured speakers are Mina Esguerra of Bright Girl Books, Wina Puangco of Moar Books, Kenneth Yu of By Implication, Honey de Peralta of Flipside Publishing, and Nida Ramirez of Visprint!

12/14/13 / 9AM to 5PM / at the Lopez Museum / free to the public

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA), and Metro Rail Transit III (MRT-3) today presented a proposal to increase fares for the LRT and MRT lines, at the one-time public consultation conducted at the LRT-2 Depot in Santolan, Pasig City.

As a background to the proposal, the transport agencies explained that the LRTA and the MRT-3 are both operating at a loss, requiring the national government to subsidize much of their expenses. These include daily operating expenses such as overhead, power supply, and salaries. They also include costs for repairs and replacement of train and rail parts, and for the payment of existing debts.

Based on their 2012 financial records, the LRTA had a deficit of P 4.704 Billion, while MRT-3’s deficit was at P 7.250 Billion.

The average cost per passenger for LRT 1 and 2 was at P 34.74. 59% of this, or P 20.46, was shouldered by the government, and only 41%, or P 14.28, was actually paid by the commuter. In the case of MRT 3, the average cost per passenger was P 53.96. 77% or P41.46 was subsidized by government, while only 23% or P12.40 was paid by the passenger.

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Following the Department of Transportation and Communications’ (DOTC) successful auction of the common ticketing system for the Light Rail Transit (LRT) and Metro Rail Transit (MRT) lines yesterday, the transport agency has scheduled the opening of financial proposals for the first airport Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project on Thursday, 12 December 2013.

Like the Automatic Fare Collection System (AFCS) bid, the tendering process for the P 17.5 Billion Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) Project has been fast-tracked by the transport agency to speed up the government’s infrastructure program.

“We are expediting work on our PPPs. Especially now that we are re-bidding the LRT Line 1 Cavite Extension (LRT-1 Cavex) project and preparing to bid out the Integrated Transport System (ITS) project later this month,” said DOTC Spokesperson Michael Arthur Sagcal.