LRTA pays income tax in advance; urges other GOCCs to do the same
April 12, 2007
Jinky Jorgio
Tel. Nos. 854-04-52/854-09-84
“This is another banner year for the LRTA because this is the second year in a row, after 22 years of revenue operation, that the LRTA was able to increase its gross income even without any fare increase,” LRTA Administrator Melquiades Robles announced.
Based on its year-end financial statement, the LRTA was able to earn a total net income of P400.4 Million. From rail revenues alone, the Authority posted an 8.46% increase or a total of P2.23 Billion from P2.1 Billion in 2005.
In turn, the increase in rail revenue was attributed to the normalization and modernization of the old fleets, increasing the number of operational trains from 68 to 78.
“We repaired all the damaged collision trains so that all trains which have not been running for around 10 years already are now operational. The trains are actually the key in turning profit, so we prioritized its rehabilitation and even procured additional 12 four-car trains that are fully-modernized to service the growing number of passengers,” Robles explained.
He added, with their fleet expansion, passenger volume also increased by 8.21% or a total of 158.65 million passengers from the 146.6 million recorded in 2005.
Despite the improvement in LRTA’s performance, Robles said they still have an enormous amount of work to do for the coming years.
“We must not be complacent about the tasks before us for some might call this a good record but I call it a good start,” he emphasized.
Robles also urged other GOCCs to pay their income taxes ahead of the deadline set by the BIR, to set an example to others, as well as help the government finance its development projects and spur growth in the economy.
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