LTFRB Executive Director Maria Kristina Cassion (Screengrab from Laging Handa briefing)
MANILA – The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) will wait for the administration of the President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to start before releasing the next tranche of the fuel subsidy program, an official said on Wednesday.
In a Laging Handa briefing, LTFRB Executive Director Maria Kristina Cassion said while they are ready for the next disbursement of the subsidy program, it would depend on the policies of the incoming administration.
“We do not want to preempt po kasi of the incoming administration of President Marcos kung ano po iyong kanilang mga programa at polisiya, when it comes to the ayuda for the transportation sector (We do not want to preempt the incoming administration of President Marcos on what their programs and policies are on the subsidy for the transport sector),” Cassion said.
She said the LTFRB is ready to follow the policies and respond to the directives from Marcos.
“Rest assured naman po sa naririnig natin kay incoming President Marcos na iyong transportation ay isa daw sa tututukan ng kaniyang administrasyon (Rest assured that we have heard from incoming President Marcos that his administration will focus on transportation),” she said.
The LTFRB, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) already have completed their lists of beneficiaries under the program.
“If in case po na ire-release po nila iyong second tranche, wala namang pagbabago doon sa mga beneficiaries, kasi ito naman po talaga ang registered na mga franchise owners po sa atin (If the second tranche is released, there will not be any changes in beneficiaries, because these are already our registered franchise owners),” she said.
She noted that the previous fuel subsidy program had a budget of PHP2.5 billion from the General Appropriations Act of 2022 and around 300,000 beneficiaries.
To date, she said the Landbank of the Philippines (LBP) has completed disbursement to 264,000 beneficiaries, with the remaining 50,000 beneficiaries to receive their subsidy within the week. (PNA)
