BONTOC, Mountain Province – Eligible tricycle drivers in this capital town are set to receive financial assistance through the national government’s Fuel Subsidy Program, following the release of the implementation guidelines by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
The municipal government, through the Municipal Tricycle Franchising Regulatory Board (MTFRB), has started to facilitate the proper implementation of the program.
MTFRB Secretariat Danay Aquino, from the Office of the Municipal Mayor, explained to the tricycle operators the form that they need to fill and the requirements needed. The operator of the tricycle that has a franchise will be the one to fill in the form, but it is the tricycle driver who shall receive the fuel subsidy.
DILG Memorandum Circular No. 2024-105 said that the Fuel Subsidy Program, otherwise known as the Pantawid Pasada Program, aims to help tricycle drivers who were badly affected by the rise in fuel prices caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine-Russia conflict.
Per the DILG’s guidelines released on July 30, the consolidated local master list will be forwarded to their central office, which will then endorse it to the Department of Transportation-Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (DOTr-LTFRB) for the distribution of the fuel subsidy.
Qualified tricycle drivers in Bontoc who shall benefit from the Pantawid Pasada Program are those who drive tricycle units with franchises.
The MTFRB expressed high hopes that it will be released to the drivers soon as it is of great help to mitigate the risk of increasing fuel costs, which has made it more challenging to maintain public transportation operations.
Meanwhile, the MTFRB is reminding the tricycle operators and drivers to display the updated fare matrix inside their vehicles to help commuters calculate the reasonable cost of the ride and avoid being overcharged.
For further inquiries about the national government’s Fuel Subsidy Program, tricycle operators and drivers are welcome to visit the MTFRB Secretariat at the Office of the Municipal Mayor, located on the 2nd Floor of the Bontoc Municipal Capitol. By Alpine L. Killa-Malwagay
