Libreng Sakay program benefits more than 1.6 million students
MORE than 1.6 million students have benefited from the government’s fuel subsidy and Libreng Sakay programs, the government said on Monday.
In a news statement, the Office of the Press Secretary (OPS) said the national government’s fuel subsidy and Libreng Sakay programs were carried out to cushion the effect of oil price hikes on the transport sector and commuters.
Citing the administration’s yearend report, the OPS said the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) facilitated the timely release of funding to sustain the ongoing implementation of the fuel subsidy program for public utility vehicles (PUVS) and the Libreng Sakay Program of the Department of Transportation (DOTR).
The OPS added that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. also directed the DOTR to continue the implementation of the Libreng Sakay for Students Program in LRT 2, which benefited an estimated 1.6 million students from August 22 to November 5 this year.
In addition, under the Oplan Balik Eskwela program of the MRT 3 and the Philippine National Railways (PNR), a total of 143,290 students were given a 20-percent fare discount.
The government’s Service Contracting Program (SCP) also provided compensation to operators and drivers whose livelihoods were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and the increase in oil prices.
From April to July 2022, 19,194 PUV drivers were contracted to operate 16,832 PUV units on 921 routes across the country, the OPS quoting the report, added. As of December 23, 2022, 751 Public Utility Bus units operated by 87 companies are servicing the Edsa Busway.
To reduce energy costs, the OPS said the Marcos government implemented concrete steps since July this year, such as the Energy Efficiency and Conservation (EEC) program and also assisted distribution utilities to rationalize power supply sources.
Also, the OPS said the Department of Energy (DOE) carried out the Government Energy Management Program (GEMP), which mandated all government agencies to save at least 10 percent on the consumption of electricity and fuel through the adoption of energy conservation measures.
As of December 13, it added that 19 percent of government entities are compliant with the GEMP, resulting in savings equivalent to P285 million.
The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) also suspended the collection of the Feed-in Tariff (FIT) from December 2022 to February 2023 to ease inflation pressure on electricity consumers.
The FIT is a uniform charge imposed on all on-grid electricity consumers for the development and promotion of renewable energy in the country.
The ERC and DOE have been conducting a Power Supply Agreement (PSA) Caravan since November 2022 aimed at assisting distribution utilities (DUS) and electric cooperatives (ECS) in rationalizing and optimizing their power supply sources.
Other government measures include the continued implementation of targeted subsidies to mitigate the impact of increasing fuel and electricity prices.
As a result of DOE’S negotiation with oil companies for a fuel discount program, participating gasoline station outlets offered a fuel discount of P1 to P4 per liter.
On October 28, 2022, the ERC, DOE, and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) signed the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of RA No. 11552, extending the lifeline subsidy among qualified marginalized electricity users to another 30 years and expanded the beneficiaries to Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) members.