Senator Win Gatchalian called on the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to ensure a 100 percent distribution of the fuel subsidies for public jeepney drivers and operators.
Gatchalian made the call after the LTFRB announced that fuel subsidies under the Pantawid Pasada Program (PPP) would be increased from P5,000 last year to P20,514 this year.
The legislator noted that only half, or about 87,000, of the intended 173,000 beneficiaries across the country, has received their fuel cards in 2018, during a time of high oil prices and rapid inflation peaking at 6.7 percent.
“Only half of the intended 173,000 beneficiaries received their fuel cards in 2018.”
“Now that the fuel subsidy for public utility vehicles has been raised from P5,000 to P20,000, the Land Transportation Regulatory Board must ensure that all legitimate franchise holders would be able to get their vouchers on time,” the lawmaker said.
“The fuel subsidy for public utility vehicles has been raised from P5,000 to P20,000.”
“Kamakailan lamang ay narinig natin ang hinaing ng mga jeepney operators bunga ng sunod-sunod na oil price hike ngayong buwan. Huwag na sana hintayin ng LTFRB na maglunsad pa ang iba’t ibang transport groups ng mga malawakang transport strike bago sila kumilos (Recently, we have heard the concerns of jeepney operators on the successive oil price hikes this month. The LTFRB should not wait for the various transport groups to launch a nationwide transport strike before it acts on the issue),” the senator added.
The PPP, launched in July last year, seeks to mitigate the impact of fuel price increases due to the imposition of excise taxes under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law and movement of petroleum prices in the world market.
A total of 88,209 fuel subsidy cards were already distributed to beneficiaries from July 17, 2018 to Feb. 24, 2019 based on data from the LTFRB.
The LTFRB has reminded legitimate franchise holders of public utility jeepneys to claim their fuel voucher cards at its offices across the country until February 28.
