Transport leaders on Sunday called on the government to release the P6,000 fuel subsidy to all public utility vehicle drives and operators as promised to mitigate the impact of the rising fuel costs as the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) urged the Department of Budget and Management to release the P3 billion earmarked for this program.
Boy Vargas of Transport Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines, in a Super Radyo dzBB interview, said they have already coordinated with the government on the subsidy release.
“The LTFRB was saying there was some budget. We hope that this budget will be released. And if the Senate and Congress can hear us, they can allocate a budget to help our drivers,” he said.
The LTFRB said it would provide a P6,000 fuel subsidy to all PUV drivers in August.
Mody Floranda, Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (PISTON) national president, said the fuel subsidy must be given separately to drivers and operators.
“The subsidy for the operators must be different because of the high price of the vehicle parts, and to the drivers who are the primary ones affected by the increase in the price of petroleum products,” he said.
He said he has already raised the concerns of the many operators before the LTFRB and the Department of Transportation.
“We also wrote the President that the benefits must be dual,” he said.
Transport Secretary Jamie Bautista said the LTFRB would request the DBM to release the funds needed for the fuel subsidy.
A total of P3 billion is appropriated in the 2023 national budget in the form of fuel vouchers to qualified public utility vehicle (PUV), taxi, tricycle, and full-time ride-hailing and delivery services drivers nationwide.
The amount is P500 million higher than the P2.5 billion in the 2022 budget’s fuel subsidy program. This aims to cushion the impact of high oil prices on thousands of PUV drivers.
Data from DOTr showed that a total of 1.64 million will benefit from the fuel subsidy amounting to P2.95 billion and the remaining P47.36 million is allotted for operating expenses.
Of the total beneficiaries, PUVs, including ride hailing services stood at 280,000 and will get between P6,500 and P10,000 per beneficiary or a total of P1.84 billion.
The 930,000 tricycle drivers, which are under the Department of Local Government (DILG), will get P1,000 each or a total budget of P930 million.
The 150,000 delivery services, under the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) will get P1,200 each or a total budget of P180 million.
DOTr, on the other hand, clarified that the Department of Energy (DOE) should certify that the average price of fuel for the last three months exceeded $80 per barrel before the release of fuel subsidy.
The Department of Energy said over the weekend gasoline prices may increase more than P4 per liter due to the movement of prices in the world oil market last week.
The DOE’s Oil Industry Management Bureau director Rino Abad said the agency estimated an oil price hike of P3.70 to P3.80 per liter for gasoline but said some industry insiders have estimated an even higher increase of P4.10 per liter for gasoline.
Abad said kerosene may go up by P2.75 to P3 per liter and gasoline by P0.30 to P0.40 per liter. The oil companies will implement the latest oil price hike effective 6 a.m. Tuesday.
Abad urged the public utility vehicles clamoring for fuel transport subsidy to coordinate with the LTFRB.
He said LTFRB has the list of the PUV beneficiaries and DOE’s involvement may cause another layer that may delay the processing of the targeted fuel subsidy.
Abad said the anticipated increase in pump prices was driven by a cut in production from Russia and Saudi Arabia. Abad earlier said China also delivered on its commitment to reduce oil production this month.
Diesel prices will have increased by around P10 per liter for the past five weeks, while gasoline prices have already risen by P5 per liter for the same period.
In an advisory on Saturday, Unioil Petroleum said forecasts that diesel will increase by P3.70 to P3.90 per liter, while gasoline will go up by P0.20 to P0.40 per liter.
This comes just a week after a major pump price hike of P3.50 for diesel, P2.10 for gasoline, and P3.25 for kerosene.
It is also the fifth straight week of increases for diesel and kerosene and the fourth in a row for gasoline.