Escudero asks MRT, LRT  to report non-rail revenues

MANILA — Amid plans to raise metro rail fares, Senator Francis Escudero wants the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) and the Light Rail Transit (LRT) to submit to the Senate the full details and accounting of their revenue sharing from the advertisements and lease operations of the Metro Rail Transit Corporation (MRTC) and the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA
).
Escudero, chairman of the Senate justice and human rights committee, said these non-rail revenues can be tapped to subsidize the fare increases the government was planning to implement.

“If only the government gets its full collectibles from non-rail revenues, pressure to raise fare levels would be unloaded off its shoulder. From the way it looks now, there is a dismal proportion in terms of revenue sharing realized from non-rail revenues between the government and the MRTC,” Escudero said.

The MRTC, which operates the MRT, has been collecting and receiving income from ads and lease operations through its subsidiary, the MRT Development Corp. (MRTDevCo).

The MRTC, however, failed to settle its outstanding debt to the government, which now runs to more than P1 billion.