PUV drivers: We followed rules, applied for fuel subsidy; where is it?

Public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers on Tuesday aired their grievances about the  delay in the release of the fuel subsidies and service contracting pay allotted to them.

According to Dano Tingcungco’s report on “24 Oras” on Tuesday, the PUV drivers said they have nearly gone bankrupt since the government implemented its free ride program and the successive increase in domestic pump prices.

“Paano na ngayon ang aming paghahanap buhay? Para po kaming hindi mabubuhay talaga kapag hindi babaguhin ang patakaran,” Ulysses Asugue, a jeepney driver, said.

(What will happen now to our livelihood? It's as if we can't really survive if the policy is not changed.)

“Ang aming hinihiling po sa gobyerno, sana matugunan ang aming problema. Unang-una ang aming subsidy. Wala pa po kaming nakukuha diyan. Pero kami po ay nag-apply, kami po ay sumunod dun sa patakaran ng gobyerno na magpresenta ng dokumento,” Benedicto Asugue, another jeepney driver, said.

(What we are asking is for the government to deal with this problem. First, our subsidy. We haven't gotten anything yet. We applied and we followed the government's rule to present documents.)

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) in March started the distribution of P6,500 in fuel subsidies to over 377,000 qualified PUV drivers and operators to help alleviate their plight due to the series of price hikes on fuel brought on by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 

Transport group Manibela, however, said that only 20,000 out of their 50,000 members were given the fuel subsidy even though they had applied for the program and complied with the requirements.

“Sa miyembro po namin, mga dalawang ruta pa lang po ang nakakuha. Ang nag-apply po sa amin ay nasa limang ruta. ‘Yung mga kasamahan namin sumulat na sana mabayaran na yung at least isang buwan dahil po talagang nanawagan kahit sa Facebook na naghahanap na ng mauutangan para lang may ma-i-sustain sila na pambili ng krudo. Wala na kaming pambayad na cash,” Mar Valbuena of Manibela said.

(Among our members, only two routes received the subsidy. But we have five routes that had applied for the subsidy. Our colleagues wrote and hoped to be paid for at least a month. They actually even turned to Facebook to borrow money just to be able to sustain the purchase of gasoline. We can no longer pay it in cash.)

Aside from the fuel subsidy, the group noted that several of its members who participated in Department of Transportation’s contracting services have yet to receive their pay for more than a month.

“’Yung programa na libreng sakay ay magandang pakinggan. Libre ang sakay ng ating mga mananakay, tama po ‘yun, pwede po yun. Pero ito po ay hindi dumaan sa konsultasyon sa mga transport sector,” Jun de Leon of Laban TNVS, stressed.

(The free ride program sounds good on paper. Our passengers have free rides, that's right and that's fine. But this did not go through consultation with the transport sector.)

“Kung ito sana ay napag-usapan kasama ang mga transport sector, sana po ang mga libreng sakay ay inilagay doon sa mga walang mga PUV at kulang ang mga pampublikong sasakyan,” he added.

(If this had been discussed with the transport sector, I hope free rides would have been placed there for those who do not have PUVs and lack public transport.)

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has released P7 billion to expand the service contracting program (SCP) for affected public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers following the consecutive weeks of fuel price hikes.

The department said it released the P7 billion to the DOTr for the implementation of the program, in which operators and drivers who participate in the government’s free ridership program will receive a one-time payout of P4,000 and weekly payments based on kilometers traveled per week, with or without passengers.

Release fuel subsidy

The drivers, also called on the government to find a way to reduce domestic pump prices.

They stated they would not launch a transportation strike. However, they insisted that many drivers have stopped working because they couldn't afford the fuel.

“Hindi makatarungan para sa mga mananakay natin kung titigil-pasada po kami. Pero para sa mga mananakay natin, kusa na po kaming tumitigil dahil wala nang pang-gasolina,” De Leon stressed.

(It will not be fair for our passengers if we have a transport strike. But for our passengers, we stopped our routes on purpose because we don’t have money to buy gasoline.)

“Kung wala rin ho kaming maiuuwi sa aming pamilya at wala rin kaming maikargang diesel paano po kami makakapag-serbisyo sa inyo ng tama at maayos?” he added.

(If we cannot earn for our families and don’t have money to buy diesel, how can we serve you correctly and properly?)

Furthermore, the drivers claimed that they had previously requested a meeting with the DOTr but had been denied several times.

GMA News is still trying to get a comment from DOTr. — Mel Matthew Doctor/BM, GMA News