Solon reiterates call to expand coverage of 'libreng sakay'

Camarines Sur 2nd district Rep. LRay Villafuerte renewed on Wednesday, July 13 his call for the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to expand the coverage of its "libreng sakay" or free ride program so it may benefit more commuters.

Villafuerte, in a statement, specified senior citizens, persons with disability (PWDs), and solo parents as those he wants covered by libreng sakay on the Metro Rail Transit-3 (MRT-3), Light Rail Transit-2 (LRT-2), and Philippine National Railways (PNR).

So far, only students have been able to avail of the program on these rail lines.

Villafuerte, a former House deputy speaker, called on legislators in the 19th Congress to write a 2023 General Appropriations Act (GAA) that will include a budget sufficient enough for the government to sustain the program "until next year at least".

He likewise proposed to the DOTr and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to streamline and simplify the validation process to make it easy for student-beneficiaries to avail of such free rides at the MRT, LRT and PNR.

Villafuerte earlier extolled President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. for ordering the continuation of libreng sakay in the National Capital Region (NCR) in one of his first acts as chief executive.

The move is seen to help ease the economic woes of commuters who have been saddled with ever-rising fuel prices and the newly-approved fare hike on public utility jeepneys (PUJs).

“President BBM’s move to greenlight on day one of his presidency the extension of the libreng sakay program is a harbinger of the better days ahead on his watch for our people, particularly the masa (masses) who have been hit the hardest by the economic crisis touched off by the over two-year Covid-19 pandemic plus the oil price shock, food supply squeeze and other ill effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” Villafuerte said.

DOTr Secretary Jaime Bautista earlier said that the DOTr will seek an additional outlay of P1.4 billion as the agency no longer has funds in its 2022 budget to continue the free ride program until the end of December.

President Marcos approved last July 1 the recommendation of Bautista to extend the free rides program for buses plying the EDSA Carousel Busway until end of December along with the free rides in the MRT-3, LRT-2, and PNR for students, at least for the first quarter of school year 2022-2023 from Aug. 22 to Nov. 4.