THE Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) maintained on Tuesday that there will be no fare hike in 2016 in any of its services, such as the Metro Rail Transit (MRT).
READ: Abaya: LRT-MRT fare hike unlikely for rest of Noy term
The DOTC gave this assurance during Senate plenary debates at the Senate on the agency鈥檚 proposed budget next year.
鈥淔or the record, before we approve your budget, do you have any plans to increase fares again next year for any of your services, MRT, the trains鈥�,鈥� Senator Grace Poe asked.
鈥淏aka mamaya, ito yung budget tapos biglang pagkatapos ng Pasko, magtaas kayo muli ng singil,鈥� Poe added.
鈥淣o fare hike鈥ver our dead bodies,鈥� said Senator Loren Legarda, who was defending the DOTC鈥檚 budget as chair of the Senate committee on finance.
DOTC Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya was standing beside Legarda while Poe was scrutinizing the budget of the agency. Poe had earlier called for Abaya鈥檚 resignation for his alleged failure to address the perennial problems plaguing MRT鈥檚 operations.
Reacting to Legarda鈥檚 remark, Poe said: 鈥淯y be careful what people might be wishing for.鈥�