The Department of Transportation said it will distribute P3 billion in fuel subsidies to 1.36 million public utility vehicle drivers nationwide affected “within the next 2 days, the latest would be September 15.”
Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said the subsidy will help PUV drivers and operators following nine straight weeks of oil price increases.
Diesel prices went up by P14.80 per liter while kerosene increased by P13.95 per liter for the past ten weeks.
On the other hand, gasoline prices went up by P9.85 per liter for the past nine weeks.
Bautista said the beneficiaries of the fuel subsidy program include 6,000 modernized jeepney operators, 150,000 jeepney drivers and operators, 500 modernized UV Express operators, 20,000 utility van express operators, 930,000 tricycle drivers and operators, and 150,000 food delivery riders, among others.
The Department of Energy, for its part, said the movement of prices in the domestic market is influenced by the movement of global oil prices.
“We are constantly talking with oil firms, but you know this is a global thing so it’s a common concern,” Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla said when asked for comment on the successive weekly oil price hikes.
Oil firms raised the price of diesel by P0.40 per liter and gasoline and kerosene by P0.20 per liter, respectively, effective 6 a.m. today (Tuesday).
“Petron will implement the following price increases effective 6 a.m. on Sep 12: P0.20 per liter for gasoline; P0.40 per liter for diesel and P0.20 per liter for kerosene. These reflect movements in the international oil market,” Petron Corp. said in its advisory.
Other oil firms PTT Philippines, Jetti Petroleum, Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, Seaoil Philippines, Cleanfuel, PetroGazz, and Flying V also raised pump prices.
