The Land Transportation Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB) is set to provide cash assistance to public transport operators and drivers here to cushion the effect of high fuel prices.
LTFRB hearing officer Jason Tan said in a statement Saturday that some 3,000 operators and drivers have been identified as beneficiaries of the fuel subsidy program of the government.
Under the program, each of the beneficiaries will receive PHP6,500.
The national government has allocated P2.5 billion for the program to cushion the impact of the consecutive oil price hikes in the past three months.
“The fund is expected to be downloaded to the LTFRB through the Land Bank of the Philippines,” Tan said.
He said the LTFRB will course the fuel subsidy through the automated teller machine (ATM) accounts of the identified beneficiaries.
Meanwhile, he asked the drivers to refrain from increasing the fare rate without authorization from the LTFRB.
He said the transport group should file a petition for a fare hike for approval by the LTFRB before a fare increase could be implemented.
Source: Philippines News Agency
