A total of 128,912 operators of public utility vehicles (PUVs) have been included in the list of the beneficiaries of the fuel subsidy through a cash assistance from the national government amid the continuous increase in the prices of petroleum products in the past weeks, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) disclosed on Saturday, Sept. 30.
LTFRB chairman Teofilo Guadiz III said the number of beneficiaries that were already submitted to the Land Bank of the Philippines translates to a P840,612,500 amount of fuel subsidy.
The fuel subsidy was released by the Department of Budget and Management following the series of oil price hikes. Based on the existing law, the Philippine government must provide fuel subsidies to the transport sector after at least 12 consecutive weeks of increases.
Based on the LTFRB data, around 1.36 million beneficiaries would be receiving the one-time cash assistance—280,000 of them are PUVs; 930,00 are tricycle operators while 150,000 are delivery service riders.
The beneficiaries include operators of the passenger jeepneys (PUJs), UV Express, mini-buses, public utility buses (PUBs), Filcabs, shuttle services, taxis, tourist transport services, school transport services, and Transportation Network Vehicle Services (TNVS).
The LTFRB will facilitate the processing of the fuel subsidy for around 280,000 PUV beneficiaries.
Guadiz said that of the total number of beneficiaries already forwarded to the Land Bank, 92,755 of them already received the cash assistance which translates to P483.7 million.
“We assure the public that the LTFRB will continue to coordinate with the Land Bank of the Philippines for the quick distribution of the fuel subsidy to the qualified beneficiaries,” said Guadiz.