A TOTAL of P3.1 billion in fuel subsidies has been allocated for the public transport and agricultural sectors in 2024 to help cushion the impact of price surges this year, a congressman said on Tuesday.
“Congress earmarked the sum of P2.5 billion in the 2024 national budget specifically for the direct fuel subsidies to public utility vehicle drivers, including tricycle, ride-hailing, and delivery service drivers,” Makati City Rep. Luis N. Campos, Jr. said in a statement.
The vice chairman of the House Appropriations Committee said farmers operating agricultural machinery are also entitled to the fuel subsidy. “We also allocated another P510 million in financial assistance to provide relief to small farmers,” he said.
He explained that the fuel subsidy grant activates when the average price for a barrel of Dubai crude oil breaches $80 (about P4,512) for one calendar month.
“We are determined to sustain the annual funding for the subsidies to vulnerable sectors, so long as the Dubai crude oil price… has reached $80 (P4,512) per barrel,” Campos said.
Mr. Campos said those seeking to participate in the fuel subsidy program must first be “identified and validated” by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board.
Farmers seeking to avail of the subsidy should also be listed in the Department of Agriculture’s Registry System for the Basic Sectors in Agriculture.
In 2023, modern public utility jeepneys and UV Express drivers received P10,000 in fuel subsidies while those driving traditional jeepneys received P6,500.
Delivery couriers received P1,200 while tricycle drivers received P1,000 to subsidize their fuel expenses.
Farmer-beneficiaries of the fuel subsidy program received P3,000 each. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio