Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go has urged both the current and incoming administrations to work together to address the many offshoot problems resulting from runaway fuel prices.
Go, chairman of the Senate Health and Demography Committee, said it is necessary to implement measures to alleviate the plight of transport workers while ensuring that ordinary commuters would not be overburdened.
“Binabalanse ng ating gobyerno ang interes ng mga kababayan nating patuloy na kumakayod at naglilingkod sa sektor ng pampublikong transportasyon, kasabay ng sapat na pagprotekta sa kapakanan ng mga ordinaryong mamamayan sa kabila ng mga pagtaas sa presyo ng langis (Our government is balancing the interest of our countrymen who continue to work and serve in the public transport sector, and the giving of enough protection to the welfare of the ordinary citizens amid the rising prices of oil),’’ he said.
In an interview after personally distributing assistance to various sectoral groups in Governor Generoso, Davao Oriental, Go stressed that cooperation between the government and concerned sectors is necessary to avoid adding burden to Filipinos amid an ongoing pandemic and other crises the country is facing.
“Sa ngayon naman po, nakapagbigay na po ng ayuda – fuel subsidy sa 180,000 drivers through LTFRB (Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board). (For now, assistance was already provided – fuel subsidy has been given to 180,000 drivers through the LTFRB). Tulong po ito para sa kanila dahil sa pagtaas ng presyo (This was provided as an aid for them due to the price hike),” he added.
Earlier, Go appealed to the concerned agencies to speed up the disbursement of the fuel subsidy to cover as many qualified beneficiaries as possible.
“This will help in keeping the transport sector afloat amid the crisis without overburdening the commuters,” the senator said.
Go explained that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has pushed commodity prices up but the Duterte administration is doing everything it can to help transport workers and ordinary Filipinos deal with the situation.
“At hintayin na lang po natin kung ano rin po ang plano ng next administration para sa ating mga drivers, para mabawasan po ‘yung hirap na dulot ng pagtaas ng presyo (Let us also wait for the plan of the next administration for the drivers, and ease their difficulty due to the price hike),” Go added.
He appealed to the LTFRB to continue ensuring that the concerns of transport workers and commuters are taken into consideration.
The LTFRB earlier approved a P1 provisional increase on the minimum fare of public utility jeepneys (PUJs) plying in Metro Manila, Region 3 and Region 4.