Fuel subsidy goes directly to drivers

LTFRB chief Martin Delgra III. INQUIRER.net file photo / GABRIEL PABICO LALU

MANILA, Philippines — The government will see to it that the fuel subsidy will be used directly by public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers to enable them to cope with rising oil prices, according to Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB) chair Martin Delgra.

Delgra said the fuel subsidy would be given to legitimate franchise holders and drivers of public utility jeepneys through the Pantawid Pasada Program that was first implemented in 2018.

The LTFRB chief noted that the cash cards for the subsidy are with the operators or franchise holders, but he said the LTFRB would look for ways to ensure the drivers themselves would use these cards.

“The Pantawid Pasada card is with the operator, or the franchise holder. But we are looking at ways by which we could give it to the drivers and have them use these themselves, where they will be the ones to buy the fuel, especially the traditional jeepneys and the drivers operating under the boundary system,” Delgra said at the Laging Handa briefing.

Earlier, the Liga ng Transportasyon at Operators sa Pilipinas recommended that the subsidy be given directly to the drivers to ensure it would be used for the jeepneys and not the private vehicles of the operators.

There is no specific date yet when the subsidy would be distributed as the funds are still being processed, but Delgra said the LTFRB had been preparing for the disbursement.

The LTFRB has also been coordinating with the Department of Energy for the dissemination of guidelines for oil companies participating in the fuel subsidy program, he added.

It has also appealed to oil companies to increase their fuel discounts to PUVs, he said.