Transport group says some operators haven’t released fuel subsidy to drivers

A number of public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers have yet to receive their fuel subsidy with domestic pump prices expected to increase yet again this week, a transport group said over the weekend.

According to the Alliance of Transport Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines (ALTODAP), they have received reports that operators did not give out the fuel subsidies to the drivers.

“Either winithdraw nila ‘yan na cash. Kasi ‘pag winithdaw nila ‘yan, parang mado-dormant ka na tawag doon, na hindi ka na malalagyan kahit kailangan dahil bawal ‘yon,” he said in Bernadette Reyes' report on GMA’s “24 Oras Weekend” on Sunday.

“Maraming operator na winithdraw nila na hindi naman binigay sa driver,” he continued.

[Either they withdrew it as cash, because if you withdraw your account will be considered dormant and will not receive any funds because that is not allowed. A lot of operators withdrew and did not give the cash to the drivers.]

The Land Transportation Franchising an Regulatory Board (LTFRB) last week said it has released some P703 million worth of fuel subsidies to cover 108,164 beneficiaries who received P6,5000 per unit as part of the Pantawid Pasada program.

Under the program, drivers of public utility vehicles (PUVs) are given financial aid to counter the higher prices of petroleum products, with oil firms set to implement another hike on Tuesday.

The government has allocated an initial P2.5 billion to provide fuel vouchers for some 377,000 qualified public utility vehicle drivers across the country, amid the successive pump price hikes.

Domestic pump prices have been on an uptrend in 11 out of the past 12 weeks, due to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine which has hit global prices.

Oil firms implemented a rollback on Tuesday, but this will not be enough to offset the 11 weeks of successive hikes as these are lower than the increase implemented in the past week alone. — BM, GMA News