PUBLIC utility vehicles (PUV) drivers struggling with high pump prices could expect the resumption soon of the suspended fuel subsidy program of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).
However, farmers and fishermen, who are also facing similar fuel concerns, may have to wait until next week to get relief from the Department of Agriculture (DA), which has asked the Commission on Elections for reconsideration of its appeal for exemption from the public spending ban.
Comelec on Wednesday approved the request of LTFRB to exempt its fuel subsidy project—granted by the government amid a clamor to suspend excise tax on petroleum as oil prices soared—from the ongoing election ban.
“The grant of the petition of the LTFRB will be subject to strict implementation of the program by submission of information on how the project will be implemented, the parameters of the implementation, and specially the specific target beneficiaries and how they will apply to avail of the grants from program,” Comelec Commissioner George M. Garcia said on Wednesday.
Garcia said they will ask LTFRB to also submit the list of other government agencies which it will tap to implement the fuel subsidy program, including the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the DA.
“They would have to specifically mention the beneficiaries, the how and when the project is to be implemented as well as the documentation,” Garcia said.
But he noted that the Comelec en banc has yet to approve the request of DA to exempt from the ban its P500-million fuel voucher program.
In a Viber message, he told the BusinessMirror that the Comelec en banc is expected to tackle DA’s petition during its meeting next week.
The poll official said LTFRB will be allowed to continue with the implementation of its fuel subsidy program once it gets a copy of its resolution within the week. “The latest [for the release of the resolution] will be on Friday and the earliest will be until tomorrow [April 7]. This is a notice to the LTFRB and the different departments to now prepare the plan on how to properly implement the fuel subsidy,” Garcia said.
LTFRB opted to defer the implementation of its fuel subsidy program, when the election ban for public works started last March 25, 2022. The ban will end on May 8, 2022.
As of last week, 110,287 bene-fited from the P2.5-billion subsidy, which aims to allow PUV drivers and other sectors to cope with the rising pump prices.
Comelec enforces the election ban for public works to prevent government funds from being used for election campaign purposes.
Image credits: Nonoy Lacza