The Office of the Vice President (OVP) on Wednesday, Aug. 3, launched its “Libreng Sakay” program to help commuters in Manila and key cities in Visayas and Mindanao and decongest the roads during peak hours.
The program is officially called the “Peak Hours Augmentation Bus Service - Libreng Sakay”, which was simultaneously launched in Metro Manila, Davao City, Cebu, and Bacolod.
There will be two buses deployed in Manila to ply the route from the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX) to Monumento from 4 a.m. to 10 a.m and from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., the peak hours in Metro Manila.
“We hope that through this program, we will be able to provide relief to some of our fellow Filipinos who rely on public transport for their daily commute to work, to school, and to many other places,” Vice President Sara Duterte said during her speech for the launching of the buses.
She shared that the buses were lent to them during the campaign, so they decided to give support to the Department of Transportation’s (DOTr) Libreng Sakay program by augmenting their capacity.
The DOTr will also be the OVP’s implementing partner agency for this program. DOTr Secretary Jaime Bautista was present during the event.
Duterte emphasized that the program “is a demonstration of effective government and private sector collaboration.”
“It will support the national government’s program, and at the same time, it is hoped that this meager contribution will translate to daily savings for our public transport-riding kababayans (fellowmen),” she added.
Duterte expressed hope that the program will only be the start of “many more fruitful collaborations” with the private sector who are willing to share their resources with the public.
She said these collaborations are especially important since the country is still reeling from the Covid-19 pandemic and the effects of the global economic crisis caused by the pandemic.
In a media interview after the launch, Duterte’s spokesman Reynold Munsayac said that the OVP will shoulder the expenses for the gasoline, repair, and maintenance of the buses.
The salaries of the drivers and conductors will be shouldered by those who lent the buses to the OVP.
Munsayac hoped that other private partners can enter into a similar setup with the OVP.
“Papalawakin natin ito. Gusto natin maraming makikinabang. Mabigat ang pamasahe at maraming talagang (We will expand this. We want more to benefit from it. Transportation costs are a heavy burden and there are really many) commuters,” he said.