The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) on Wednesday, Sept. 15 assured that it would be able to pay public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers who participated in the government’s service contracting program.

At the House Committee on Appropriations hearing on the proposed P150.76-billion budget of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and its attached agencies, LTRFB Chairman Martin Delgra announced that the Office of the President has approved the release of more than P3-billion to cover the unpaid payouts.

Delgra said Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade and House Committee on Transportation Edgar Sarmiento helped intervene in behalf of the LTFRB.

“Ang mismong Presidente po ang tumawag to this representation to address this issue. Because of that, we now have the funds to pay the payouts in the amount of P3.38-billion,” Delgra said.

Delgra said the agency has already received the check and will start settling the payments to affected drivers and operators today, September 15.

“We will start sending the credit advices to LandBank today. We hope to finish fully paying the payables in the next two to three days,” Delgra said.

In its 2020 report, the Commission on Audit (COA) flagged the LTFRB’s low utilization rate, as it noted that it only used around P59-million out of the P5.58-billion appropriated funds for the Service Contracting Program.

The LTFRB said the low utilization rate was due to time constraints since the actual funds for the program was downloaded only to the agency last November 2020.

LTFRB officials also disclosed that the memorandum of agreement (MOA) between the LTFRB and the Landbank of the Philippines was only signed in December 2020.