MANILA-- The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) on Monday assured that the approved matrix for fuel surcharge on local and international flights are based on a comparative study with other states.
"Yong dagdag sa pasahe, ang kabilin-bilinan sa amin ni Secretary (Arthur Tugade) ay gumawa ng matrix para nang sa ganoon hindi maging arbitrary 'yong pagdadagdag ng surcharge (For the additional fare, the Secretary has advised us to come up with a matrix so that the additional surcharge would not be arbitrary)," CAB executive director Carmello Arcilla said.
"Pinag-aaralan din po namin 'yong mga surcharge sa ibang bansa, sa Japan, sapagkat ito'y global practice na ( We are studying the surcharge of other countries, like Japan, because this is already a global practice)," he said.
Arcilla said the surcharge was suspended in 2014 when the global fuel price decreased by at least USD67 per barrel. On August 31, the jet fuel surged to USD92.4 per barrel.
"Because of this, our airlines here are applying for a surcharge. In fact, other airlines flying from other nations already have their surcharge rates approved by their home state," he said in Filipino.
Paterno Mantaring, Cebu Pacific vice president for corporate affairs, said the airline has yet imposed a surcharge, but Cebu Pacific is among airline companies applying for the added airfare fee.
The issue was raised during a Senate hearing by the committee on public services chaired by Senator Grace Poe.
During the inquiry, the resource speakers said the surcharge will be based on the distance traveled.
Arcilla assured that once the aviation fuel reached CAB's threshold of USD70 per barrel, the surcharge will either be lowered or removed.
The approved matrix is expected to serve as a guide for future surcharge applications in cases of aviation fuel price hike. (PNA)
