THE Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) guaranteed Wednesday, August 29, that there would be no corruption in the distribution of Pantawid Pasada fuel voucher cards to public utility jeepney (PUJ) drivers and operators nationwide. LTFRB chair Martin Delgra III said the fuel card, each with a subsidy amounting to P5,000, would be distributed to some 179,000 legitimate PUJ drivers this year, to mitigate the impact of oil price increases and higher excise taxes caused by the implementation of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (Train) Law. By 2019, Delgra said each jeepney driver would receive a fuel subsidy that was "four times" higher than P5,000. "The Pantawid Pasada Program is one of the social mitigating measures provided in the Train Law. Its goal is to provide targeted relief to the public transport sector, particularly the PUJ to cushion the impact of fuel prices brought about by the excise tax," Delgra said in a weekly economic briefing. "We are confident that when we help improve the situation of our operators and drivers through these programs such as the Pantawid Pasada, we would also be able to help improve the commuting experience of the riding public who are our most important stakeholders," he added. The LTFRB, in close coordination with its partner government agencies such as the state-run Land Bank of the Philippines, already began the simultaneous distribution of fuel cards to qualified PUJ franchise holders in Metro Manila and other regions. Delgra was confident that there would be no corruption amid the implementation of the Pantawid Pasada program, since the LTFRB was receiving Landbank's reports to monitor the use of fuel cards. "Actually, there would be no corruption. There might be, I don't know, if the proper word would be misused, but it would certainly not be corruption," the LTFRB chair said. "But as I've said, Landbank would be able to monitor report on a regular basis. In fact, we're getting report on those things because Landbank is the one that takes care of the account of all these beneficiaries that are enrolled in the system," he added. Delgra reminded jeepney drivers to "avoid" misuse of the Pantawid Pasada fuel voucher card, stressing that the card should only be used for "fuel purchases only." He said drivers who would not strictly follow would be blacklisted and would be asked to refund the amount. "We have advised the PUJ operators that they have to go to the participating gas outlets with POS (point of sale) facilities kasi po doon nila gagawin 'yung pag-swipe ng card na iyan (because thay have to swipe the card there)," Delgra said. "And if they do so, for any other purpose, the possibility is that two things, either they get blacklisted, or they will be asked to refund the money. So that's basically what we're telling them," he added. (VoxPop Philippines)
