Palace: Free rides benefited 1.6M students
‘It’s a big help to the people! If the government can still fund the program, I hope it continues... because it doesn’t only help the students save their allowance, but it also helps the parents save more, especially those who come from poor families’
Almost two million students benefitted from Marcos Jr.’s administration’s Libreng Sakay program in Manila from August to November 2022, Malacañang said on Monday.
In July last year, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. directed the Department of Transportation to continue implementing the free rides until the yearend program amid the rise in oil prices.
In response, the DoTr implemented the “Libreng Sakay for Students” in LRT-2, which serves 13 stations along its 17.6-kilometer route from Recto Avenue to Antipolo station.
The Budget Department released a P1.4-billion budget to support the Libreng Sakay program.
From 22 August to 5 November 2022, approximately 1.6 million students benefitted from the free ride program while a total of 143,290 students were given a 20 percent fare discount under the Oplan Balik Eskwela program of the MRT-3 and the Philippine National Railways.
The OPS said the government’s Service Contracting Program also provided compensation to public utility vehicle 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 report said. As of 23 December 2022, the EDSA Busway is being serviced by 751 Public Utility Bus units operated by 87 companies, according to DoTr.
Pina Reyes, a 70-year-old pensioner, expressed hope that the President would order the continued implementation of the program, saying it is a big help for low-income households to send their children to school.
“It’s a big help to the people! If the government can still fund the program, I hope it continues... because it doesn’t only help the students save their allowance, but it also helps the parents save more, especially those who come from poor families,” Reyes told the Daily Tribune.
“Since it is a new year, many will pay their annual taxes, this will make the government earn revenues... I hope these revenues will be used to fund the free ride program,” she added.
Moreover, to reduce energy costs, the Marcos government implemented the Energy Efficiency and Conservation program and assisted distribution utilities to rationalize power supply sources through the Department of Energy.
DoE also carried out the Government Energy Management Program, mandating 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 13 December 2022, 19 percent of government entities are compliant with the GEMP, resulting in savings equivalent to P285 million.
The Energy Regulatory Commission also suspended the collection of the Feed-in Tariff 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.
Other government measures include the continued implementation of targeted subsidies to mitigate the impact of increasing fuel and electricity prices.
The DoE likewise continued the implementation of Republic Act 11371 or the Murang Kuryente Act, allowing the use of the government’s share from the Malampaya gas field as payment for the stranded contract cost and stranded debts of the National Power Corp.