‘The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said it is set to release the second tranche of the P5-billion fuel subsidy program for drivers of public utility vehicles late this month or early July. This should be Marcos’ first priority on his Day 1 in Malacañang.’
METRO Manila Development Authority (MMDA) authorities confirmed that vehicular traffic along EDSA has considerably decreased, and they blame the successive oil price hikes for this development.
MMDA Chairman Romando Artes said the drop was noticed before the May 9 elections when they logged 27,000 users, a decrease from the daily average of around 500,000 pre-pandemic.
Chairman Artes said: “On May 5, 2022, 417,000 vehicles traversed EDSA or above the 405,000 pre-pandemic level. But on June 9, we counted only 392,000. Last June 19, we counted again, and there were only 390,000 users.”
For the third straight week, private motorists, drivers and operators of jeepneys, buses, taxis, and other public transport have been reeling from skyrocketing oil prices, with little hope of abating in sight.
The latest increases follow two straight weeks of major increases: gasoline by P2.15 per liter and diesel by P4.30 per liter on June 14; and gasoline by P2.70 per liter and diesel by P6.55 a liter on June 7.
The Department of Energy, which monitors the prices, supply and distribution of petroleum products, said that the year-to-date adjustments stand at a net increase of P28.70 per liter for gasoline, P41.15 per liter for diesel, and kerosene by P4.85 per liter as of June 14, 2022.
The thinning of traffic flow along EDSA will make some motorists happy, but overall, it is an indication that economic recovery is again slowing down, the peso is weakening further, businesses are closing, and jobs are being lost — in the case of the transport sector, by the thousands.
President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s answer to this is not the scrapping of the fuel excise tax but the provision of more subsidies for the most affected sectors, among them the public transport drivers and workers.
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said it is set to release the second tranche of the P5-billion fuel subsidy program for drivers of public utility vehicles late this month or early July.
This should be Marcos’ first priority on his Day 1 in Malacañang.
