KABATAAN Partylist on Tuesday (18 Feb 2025) condemned the approval of a fare hike for the Light Railway Transit (LRT).

Kabataan Partylist National Spokesperson Atty. Renee Louise Co said the fare hike adds an additional burden to all students.

“Before the price of rice, the minimum fare for the train has already reached 20 pesos! Commuting students, especially in the U-belt area, have no other choice,” Co said.

“Along the LRT-1 route alone, numerous universities are proposing significant tuition and fee increases: University of the East with 5%, Adamson University with 5%, and Letran with 8%. This doesn’t even include other universities in NCR,” Co added.

Other proposed tuition and fee increases among NCR-based universities include: Ateneo de Manila University — 6%; Centro Escolar University-Makati — 3%; De La Salle University-Manila — 4.4%; De La Salle Araneta University — 6%; National Teacher’s College — 3.07%; Philippine Women’s University — 4-5%; and St. Paul University Quezon City — 10%.

“The quality of public transportation and education reflects the country’s development. When commuters reach their destinations quickly, safely, and without excessive costs, the entire community benefits. When young people are educated, the whole country benefits. The government must take responsibility for this,” Co argued.

“It’s unfortunate that the government under Marcos Jr. allows fares and tuition to rise without ensuring service quality. The only thing guaranteed to increase is business profits. We need to stop privatization and ensure government support and funding for these services,” the youth representative added.