LTFRB: PUV fuel subsidy ready by end-August

MANILA, Philippines — The fuel subsidy program for public utility vehicle (PUV) operators will be implemented before the end of this month, according to the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).

LTFRB technical division chief Joel Bolano said the project can be rolled out once the budget has been downloaded from the Department of Budget and Management.

The fuel subsidy will help PUV operators amid rising pump prices, he added.

The government has allocated P2.9 billion for fuel subsidies that will benefit 1.64 million PUV operators nationwide. Jeepney operators will receive P6,500 while modern jeepneys could receive P10,000.

LTFRB Chairman Teofilo Guadiz said they are eyeing fuel subsidies for both drivers and operators in the next round of assistance slated for the fourth quarter.

Probe

Jeepney drivers and operators in Bulacan are urging the government to investigate the distribution of fuel subsidies amid the continuing fuel price hike.

The fuel subsidy coursed through the LTFRB’s Tawid Pasada Card is not being received by members of the Bulacan Federation of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association, according to its chairman Ato Ignacio in a telephone interview with The STAR.

Jeepney drivers and operators who acquired second-hand public utility vehicles are mostly excluded from the fuel subsidy as Tawid Pasada Cards were given to the jeepneys’ original owners, he noted.

Before the pandemic, jeepney drivers earned P1,000 to P1,500 per day. Their current income has gone down to an average of P200 to P400 a day as most of their income goes to fuel, Ignacio said.

This may soon lead to fewer public transport conveyance and higher transportation costs for farm produce and other goods, he warned.

Baliwag-San Miguel Jeepney Drivers and Operators Association chairman Ferdie Santos said members of their group decreased due to the pandemic and successive fuel price increases.

Many of their members have sought employment as truck or family drivers to improve their meager income, he added. — Ramon Lazaro