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Gov't eyes another round of fuel aid for jeepneys, tricycles

20-Jul-11, 2:58 AM | Philippine News Agency

InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5

MANILA, Philippines - The government is looking at the possibility of extending another round of fuel assistance to the transport sector amid a renewed spike in global oil prices, an energy official said Tuesday.

"We're ready to do whatever assistance. As a matter of fact, we'll call a meeting of the Interagency Energy Contingency Committee. We now have the mechanism to provide them assistance.. We will act appropriately, everything is there and we can move fast - at least for those who have been issued Pantawid Pasada cards," Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras said.

The Department of Energy-led IECC crafted the Public Transport Assistance Program, more popularly known as the Pantawid Pasada Program, a nationwide targeted assistance program aimed at helping jeepney and tricycle drivers through financial support.

Jeepney drivers were given a Pantawid Pasada card loaded with P1,050 which they can use at gasoline stations for fuel purchases while tricycle drivers are programmed to receive P150 from the Interior and Local Government Department. Around 220,000 jeepneys and one million tricycles will benefit from the program.

The cards are reloadable and the DOE has repeatedly directed jeepney drivers to hold on to the cards, which are currently required for the entitlement of the existing discounts in petroleum retail outlets or gasoline stations for public utility jeepneys in areas where the cards have been distributed.

Almendras said they would have to determine if government has the budget for a new round of fuel assistance. The P450 million cost of the Pantawid Pasada Program was funded from the proceeds of the Malampaya gas to power project.

He said they would also have to determine if the current world oil prices will have an impact on the Philippine economy.

"We're looking at the total economic situation, and not just a trigger mechanism," Almendras said.

The distribution of the Pantawid Pasada cards started last May 1 and is still ongoing in provincial areas.