THE Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) will start today the distribution of a P3-billion fuel subsidiary to public utility vehicles (PUV) drivers and operators as a relief amid the unrestrained price hike of petroleum products.
The LTFRB said qualified operators of modern Public Utility Jeepneys (PUJs) and UV express units (UVEs) will receive a P10,000 subsidy.
A P6,500 cash assistance will be given to operators of other types of public transportation.
On the other hand, a P1,200 subsidy will be given to delivery service riders by the Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and P1,000 to tricycle drivers by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).
LTFRB chairperson Teofilo Guadiz III said no type of public transport will be favored for thr subsidy because all those who need it, whether modern or not, will receive the cash aid, although the cost varies.
“Pero nais ko pong linawin na pakikinabangan po ito ng lahat. Modern man o hindi. Consolidated man o hindi. Ang subsidiya na ito ay para po sa lahat ng ating mga operator na nahihirapan dahil sa sunod-sunod na pagtaas ng presyo ng petrolyo (But I want to make it clear that it will benefit everyone. Modern or not. Consolidated or not. This subsidy is for all our operators who are struggling due to the successive increase in the price of petrol),” Guadiz said.
Based on Department of Transportation (DOTr) and LTFRB estimates, about 1.36 million operators will receive the subsidy. Of the said number, 280,000 units are public utility vehicles (PUVs), 930,000 are tricycles, and 150,000 are delivery services.
The subsidy will be distributed through digital banking such as e-wallet accounts, bank accounts, and fuel subsidy cards previously issued to Fuel Subsidy Program (FSP) beneficiaries.
The only requirement to qualify for the program is that the public transport franchise should be valid or registered with the LTFRB.
The program is a joint undertaking, through a Memorandum of Agreement and Joint Memorandum Circular No. 02, series of 2023, of the DOTr, DICT, DTI, DILG, Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Department of Energy (DOE), LTFRB, and Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP).
Also under Memorandum Circular No. 2023-038, or the agency’s standard in the implementation of the Pantawid Pasada Program (PPP) or FSP, those who can avail of the assistance are operators of public utility jeepneys or PUJs, filcabs, UV Express (UVE), minibuses, public buses or PUBs, shuttle services, taxis, tourist transport services, school transport services, transportation network vehicle services, delivery services, and tricycles.
Meanwhile, Speaker Martin Romualdez yesterday said he would invite officials of the country’s oil companies to urge them into giving the public a respite amid the unabated increase in the prices of petroleum products which has been the case for nine straight weeks already.
“It is common knowledge that oil companies still sell supplies bought at lower prices before the costs of crude oil in the world market increased. Baka pwede nating mapakiusapan sila na wag na munang magtaas ng presyo (Maybe we can ask them not to increase prices for a while),” the Speaker said.
Romualdez said he is planning to sit down with representatives of petroleum companies because “government is not insensitive to the sentiments of our people, especially since this carries a domino effect on all products in the market.”
In times of economic hardship, he said “all stakeholders must find solutions to alleviate the plight of the people, including oil companies.”
“I think it would be better if we help each other soften the impact of these oil price increases because we want these products to be affordable. People have been bearing the brunt of this situation for a long time now,” he also said.
“We all know that once the prices of oil rise, everything else shoots up — except the wages and salaries of our workers,” said the Speaker.
“We want to hear from them what can they do to help in this kind of situation, and if indeed they are willing to help at all because these oil price hikes have been a burden to our kababayans.”
Romualdez said the high prices of the oil per barrel in the world market, which has been dictating the rates in the domestic supply, aside from the Oil Deregulation Law, ties government’s hands.
The House leader hinted at the possibility of reviewing bills amending the Oil Deregulation Law, which, he said, could be a necessary step to bring down the prices of oil.
“This is one of our problems, the Oil Deregulation Law that contributed to the high prices of petroleum. It ties our hands. We don’t want to impose on them (oil firms), but we also want to know if they can help alleviate our suffering,” he said.
Republic Act 8479 otherwise known as the Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act was enacted in 1998 to liberalize and deregulate the oil industry through a competitive market. — With Wendell Vigilia
