Poe calls for urgent vetting and submission of LTFRB, DILG lists for fuel subsidy

Months of sluggish response from concerned government agencies have pushed our transportation sector to the edge.

A number of public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers and operators are set to stage a widescale transportation strike should the problem on the rising prices of petroleum products not be sufficiently addressed.

Thus, we make this urgent call on the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to vet, and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) to submit their respective lists of fuel subsidy recipients.

As of last update, LTFRB has managed to disburse fuel subsidies to around 250,000 out of 264,000 recipients. Meanwhile, the DILG has not yet even submitted a list of verified tricycle drivers and operators. It bears stressing that the increase in the prices of petroleum products has started in January while the government announced its plans to disburse fuel subsidies as early as February. Almost half of the year has gone by without sufficient relief. Umaasa tayo ng mas maagap na tugon mula sa pamahalaan.

We fought for a critical P2.5-billion fuel subsidy provision for PUVs in this year's budget. Mariin nating isinulong na makapaglaan ng pondong maaaring magamit ng ating mga tsuper at PUV operator sa panahon ng krisis tulad ng kinakaharap nila ngayon.

That such amount has not been fully disbursed while our country deals with a crisis of epic proportions is beyond comprehension.

We also renew our call to the executive department, particularly to the Department of Finance, to suspend the excise tax on fuel and petroleum products for such time until the global market normalizes again. This representation has pushed for the same cause in the last Congress and will do so again in the future if necessary.

However, while the legislature is on a break, the executive department must alleviate the pain of our PUV drivers and operators. Gobyerno lamang ang maaaring sandalan ng ating mga tsuper sa pagharap nila sa krisis na ito. While it is true that failure to meet our revenue targets may have adverse effects on our country, so could a transportation strike which can paralyze operations in key areas and cost us much more.