BUDGET Secretary Amenah Pangandaman yesterday said the P3 billion fund for the fuel subsidy of drivers and operators of public utility vehicles (PUVs) is ready for release once the required joint memorandum circular (JMC) from the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB) is submitted to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).
Pangandaman, in a briefing after the sectoral Cabinet meeting in Malacañang, said President Marcos, Jr. wants the fuel subsidy distributed as soon as possible.
She, however, said that under the General Appropriations Act (GAA), a JMC from the LTFRB must first be submitted to the DBM before the fund could be released.
“Si Presidente gusto po niya kapag nasa budget po, kailangan magamit kaagad. ‘Yun po.
Sana po mailabas namin kaagad kapag meron nang requirement for GAA (The President wants that if it is already in the budget, it should be used immediately. We hope to release the fund as soon as they meet the GAA requirement),” she said.
Pangandaman said she has already talked with Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista about the JMC and assured him that the fund would be immediately released as soon as LTFRB submits it. LTFRB is under the Department of Transportation.
She said that she even advised Bautista that they could use the previous JMC as guide in crafting the new circular to expedite the issuance.
“I think they can use the previous JMC and then sign it and then submit it to us, we will release the budget,” she said.
The government has been providing fuel subsidies and discounts to PUV drivers and operators to cushion the impact of rising prices of oil.
Meanwhile, the LTFRB chairperson Teofilo Guadiz III on Tuesday said the pending P2 fare adjustment on public utility vehicles (PUJs) will undergo further review by the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA).
LTFRB yesterday conducted a hearing on the fare adjustment being sought by PUJ drivers and operators.
“We just want to ensure our PUJ drivers and operators nationwide that their pleas for fare adjustment does not fall on deaf ears. We are well aware and continue to hear their plight amid the continuing oil price hikes and their difficulty in earning enough for their families,” Guadiz said.
He said that upon review and validation by the Board, this will still undergo further review, particularly by other economic agencies such as the NEDA.
“Every fare increase has an economic impact and that is what has to be studied carefully by other government agencies such as the NEDA in order to come up with a fare increase that is justifiable and will not create a huge economic burden,” he explained.
