Ad Hoc committee sought to oversee fuel subsidy program

CEBU, Philippines — The Cebu City Council has requested the Office of the Mayor to create an Ad Hoc Committee to oversee the proper implementation of fuel subsidy using the guidelines set by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).

Councilor James Anthony Cuenco, chairman of the committee on transportation, moved for the creation of the Ad Hoc committee which the council approved last Wednesday, August 28.

Cuenco’s resolution states that the DILG has issued a memorandum circular providing the guidelines for the implementation of the fuel subsidy program for calendar year 2024.

The program aims to provide financial support to eligible tricycle drivers to cushion the effects of the rising prices of fuel.

The DILG memorandum was prompted by the agency’s observation of the spiraling cost of fuel since 2021 due to several factors, including the global pandemic and the Ukraine-Russia conflict. According to the DILG, providing fuel subsidy would help sustain the operations of public transportation.

The memorandum cited the Republic Act No. 11975 or the General Appropriations Act (GAA) of 2024 which provides for the fuel subsidy project to help the “affected transport drivers and operators”.

More than P2 billion has been earmarked for the program to help at least one million qualified PUV drivers, tricycle drivers, and delivery service drivers registered in the different Local Government Units (LGU) nationwide.

Cuenco’s resolution cited a provision that the fuel subsidy program mandates all local tricycle franchise owners or operators and franchisees to list the names of tricycle drivers in a Certification on Tricycle Driver Beneficiaries (TDBs) and to submit to the Office of the Mayor for consolidation.

It also mandates the Office of the Mayor to receive and consolidate the Certification on TBDs into a Consolidated Local Masterlist to be submitted to the DILG.

“The DILG Central Office shall then submit the National Masterlist of TDBs to the Department of Transportation - Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (DOTr-LTFRB), who shall then distribute the subsidy,” it reads.

It was also emphasized that the implementation of the fuel subsidy program requires thorough coordination among various departments within the local government of the City of Cebu.

Cuenco disclosed that on August 20, 2024, the Office of the City Administrator forwarded to his office a letter from Dr. Neila N. Aquino, City Director of the DILG Cebu City Field Office, addressed to Acting City Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia which content referred for appropriate action regarding the Local Chief Executive's responsibility to receive and consolidate certifications of Tricycle Driver Beneficiaries.

The letter prompted Cuenco to push for the creation of the Ad Hoc committee which shall be composed of the mayor and the Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO) to facilitate the implementation of the fuel subsidy program. —/FPL (FREEMAN)