Ferry and bus fares to remain unchanged during Holy Week, Marcos says

President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. said Wednesday that ferry and bus operators made a commitment that they will not increase fares this Holy Week amid the oil price shocks.

In an interview with Bloomberg on Tuesday, Marcos said the government is trying to ease the burden of increases in fuel prices on the riding public and the middle class during the Holy Week in which people are expected to go home to their provinces. 

“We’ve gotten commitments from ferries that they will not raise their fares, we’re doing the same thing with buses that they will not raise their fares and they do not limit or cut down the trips they will be taking,” Marcos said.

“We’re doing everything we can so the riding public, the general public, the people who are working, the middle class, they are the ones we are most concerned about, so it does not become a drag to their livelihoods,'' he added. 

The President said the government has been providing subsidies primarily to the transport sector “because these are the workers who will be most affected.”

Fuel subsidies and straight-out cash subsidies will be handed over to operators and drivers of ships, buses, public transport, and delivery systems to cushion the impact of fuel price increases on the actual end consumer, Marcos said.

“In the next two days, we’re going to be spending about P2.5 billion in fuel subsidies. We have planned four of those rounds of subsidies,” Marcos said. 
 
Marcos had declared a state of national energy emergency and ordered the adoption of a Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food, and Transport (UPLIFT) for affected sectors.

The declaration made under Executive Order No. 110 activates a whole-of-government response to ensure energy supply stability, support key sectors such as transport, agriculture, and MSMEs, and protect Filipinos amid global oil supply disruptions caused by the Middle East conflict.

EO 110 also authorized the Department of Energy "to take appropriate measures to safeguard the stability and adequacy of the country's energy supply and mitigate the adverse effects of disruptions in global energy supply markets." —VAL, GMA Integrated News