Liga ng Transportasyon at Operators sa Pilipinas (LTOP) President Orlando Marquez called on the national government to distribute the fuel subsidy directly to the drivers of public utility vehicles instead of allowing the transport operators to do it.
In an interview over Laging Handa briefing, LTOP President Orlando Marquez said if the national government would allow transport operators to distribute them to their drivers, the fuel subsidy may not totally serve its purpose.
“Our recommendation is to give the fuel subsidy to the drivers. It should not be given through the cards of the transport operators because the fuel subsidy may not be used to the public utility vehicles but to the private vehicles of the transport operators,” said Marquez during the interview.
Marquez was reacting to the question on the mode of the distribution of the P1 billion subsidy to the PUV drivers which was granted by the national government.
But he said that there is still no clear policy discussed when he and other transport groups met with the transport and energy officials.
Marquez said that the distribution would be directly to the bona fide PUV drivers which could be established through a certification that would be issued by the operators.
Earlier this month, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) requested the Department of Energy (DOE) to grant fuel subsidy to public transport drivers amid oil price hikes for the past few weeks.
The Department likewise welcomes the announcement of the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) for the release of P1 billion to the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) as fuel subsidies.