LTFRB: Fuel subsidy funds dissemination ‘not effective”

Land and Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) chairman Teofilo Guadiz III said the dissemination of funds under the government’s fuel subsidy program has not been effective.

Guadiz shared his assessment during a House Committee on Transportation hearing on Thursday, after he was asked by panel chairman Antipolo City Rep. Romeo Acop if the agency believes it is attaining the objectives of the program which was implemented due to the high pump prices of petroleum products.

“Based on the data, we believe that the program, insofar as helping the tricycle drivers and the other modes of transportation, we are unable to attain really the intention of the law when this was passed,” Guadiz said.

“Kulang na kulang po in terms of the dissemination of the funds… Ibig sabihin, hindi gaano effective ‘yung pagdi-disseminate ng funds,” he added.

(The dissemination of funds is lacking. In other words, the dissemination of the funds has not been effective.)

Guadiz said that other agencies in particular are “lacking behind” LTFRB in disbursing the subsidy to their intended beneficiaries.

He said the LTFRB is in charge of the public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers and operators, the tricycle drivers are under the supervision of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), while delivery service riders are under the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and Department of Trade and industry (DTI).

In 2023, LTFRB Executive Director Robert Peig said a total of P1.57 billion worth of subsidies were processed, of which the LandBank has already credited P1.32-B.

Broken down, P1.1 billion were from LTFRB, P154 million from DILG and P10 million from the DICT/DTI.

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM), for its part, said the budget for the fuel subsidy program in 2023 and 2024 were already released.

“Fully released na ang 2023. For 2024, based on the allotment order, we already released the P2.5 billion for this year sa DOTR (Department of Transportation),” DBM chief budget management specialist Mark James Evangelista said.

Under the fuel subsidy program, modernized PUV operators and drivers shall receive P10,000 while those operating traditional PUVs shall receive P6,500.

Moreover, delivery riders and tricycle drivers will also receive P1,200 and P1,000, respectively.

The DOTr and the LTFRB estimate some 1.36 million operators will receive the subsidies — 280,000 PUVs, 930,000 tricycles, and 150,000 delivery service riders.—RF, GMA Integrated News