By Alec Go
The government will continue the distribution of fuel subsidy to public utility vehicle (PUV) operators on Wednesday, Sept. 13, amid incessant increases in the price of petroleum products.
In an update on Tuesday, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said qualified beneficiaries under the Pantawid Pasada Program or Fuel Subsidy Program will receive P1,000 to P10,000.
Beneficiaries include operators of jeepneys (PUJ), Filcabs, UV Express (UVE), minibuses, public buses (PUB), shuttle services, taxis, tourist transport services, school transport service, transportation network vehicle services, delivery services, and tricycle.
Each qualified operator of modern PUJs and UVEs will get P10,000, while operators of other public transportation vehicles will get P6,500.
Qualified delivery service riders will get P1,200 each through the Department of Information and Communications Technology and the Department of Trade and Industry.
Tricycle drivers will get a P1,000 subsidy through the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
The LTFRB and the Department of Transportation has estimated that around 1.36 million operators will be assisted by the subsidy.
These include 280,000 PUVs units, 930,000 tricycles, and 150,000 in the delivery service sector.
The fuel subsidy will be handed over to beneficiaries through digital banking such as e-wallet accounts, bank accounts, and fuel subsidy cards.
To be qualified, units must have valid franchises and be registered under the LTFRB.
“Ang halaga po kasi na inilaan sa bawat benepisyaryo ng subsidiya ay nakadepende kung gaano karami ang produktong petrolyo na kinokonsumo ng kanilang pampublikong sasakyan,” LTFRB chairperson Teofilo Guadiz III said.
“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,” Guadiz added. – gb
