Fuel crisis forces WVTC into 3-day workweek, layoffs possible

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

The Western Visayas Transport Cooperative will adopt a three-day workweek for drivers and passenger assistance officers as it tries to contain losses from rising fuel prices, with management warning that deeper cuts or even a shutdown could follow if costs keep climbing.

WVTC President Raymundo Parcon said the move is part of a broader effort to adjust fleet deployment and reduce expenses as the cooperative struggles with mounting operating losses.

Parcon said all modernized units will operate on Mondays and Thursdays, service will be cut to 50% on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and fleet deployment will drop further to 30% from Fridays to Sundays.

Drivers and passenger assistance officers previously worked six days a week.

He said the revised schedule is intended to match fluctuating passenger demand while limiting fuel expenses.

“Now we can see that the schools are already closing and there is a reduced volume of passengers going to the city […] Drivers and PAOs on a certain day cannot operate because they have to wait for their turn,” he said Friday, March 27.

“We cannot operate at full capacity if it means losses for the cooperative,” Parcon said, explaining that workers will keep their jobs for now but may have to wait for their assigned schedules.

He said the adjustments have become necessary because the cooperative is facing higher diesel prices, unchanged fares, no government subsidy and a proposed fare increase that remains pending.

“This is for us not to suffer from the skyrocketing prices of diesel. If we operate in full, there is a tendency that we will be losing profit because even now we are already losing PHP 100,000 a day,” he said.

Parcon said WVTC has also failed to pay its monthly bank amortization since February because of falling revenues and higher fuel costs.

He warned that if diesel prices rise to PHP 150 per liter while fares remain unchanged at PHP 15 for modernized jeepneys and PHP 13 for traditional units, the cooperative may have to suspend operations and could eventually resort to layoffs.

“There is nothing that we can do. We are not the ones at fault here. We cannot carry the expenses. A layoff is possible,” he said, adding that he hopes fuel prices will stabilize by April.

Parcon urged the government to suspend or reduce fuel excise taxes to provide immediate relief to transport operators and commuters.

The appeal comes as the national government studies possible fuel tax relief amid continued pressure on pump prices.