Bacolod taxi groups plan protest caravan over fuel subsidy

BACOLOD CITY — Local taxi drivers and operators are planning a caravan rally to protest the “unfair” distribution of government fuel subsidies, alleging that unregistered “colorum” tricycles and transport network vehicle service (TNVS) units are being prioritized over legitimate public utility vehicles (PUVs).

The Samahan ng mga Taxi Drivers sa Bacolod (SMTDB) and the Taxi Operators Negros Occidental Association (TONO) made the statement during a press conference in Bacolod City on Monday, calling on government agencies to include their 520 members in fuel subsidy programs and other assistance from the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

READ: Fuel subsidy for taxi drivers completed, P135 M distributed – LTFRB

“Taxi operators have been serving Bacolod for decades. We are the original public utility vehicles—we have franchises, registration papers, city stickers, and business permits to ensure passenger safety. Yet when government programs are rolled out, taxi drivers are always left behind,” SMTDB president Ronald Allan Salgado said in a statement.

The groups claimed that while compliant taxi operators shoulder high costs to meet regulatory requirements, a substantial portion of recent fuel subsidies distributed by the LTFRB, DSWD, and local government units went to “colorum” tricycles and TNVS units allegedly operating with “ghost drivers” and “ghost riders.”

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Salgado also recalled a 2017 LTFRB “Drivers Academy” seminar at the Tangub Gym, where they were told that completing traffic law training would give them priority in future government assistance programs.

“But what is happening now is the exact opposite,” the statement read. “Do taxi drivers not eat? Do we not buy fuel every day? In fact, we consume more fuel daily to sustain our livelihood.”

The groups thanked Bacolod Rep. Alfredo Abelardo Benitez for providing fuel assistance from his personal funds, as well as Mayor Greg Gasataya for distributing rice aid.

They also called on DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian to review the subsidy distribution system and listen to the concerns of struggling drivers, and urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to investigate the “rapid ballooning” of TNVS units in Bacolod, arguing that the city’s transport demand cannot be equated with larger urban centers like Manila or Cebu.

While expressing support for Councilor Dindo Ramos’ Resolution No. 365, Series of 2026, which seeks to regulate TNVS operations, the groups said the measure lacks enforcement mechanisms. They called for an immediate public hearing and the creation of a local fuel discount program specifically for taxi operators./coa