Members of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board in Central Visayas or LTFRB-7 apprehend a jeeney driver in this file photo. Today, the LTFRB-7 will distribute cash assistance to jeepney operators here. | photo courtesy of LTFRB-7
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Land Transportation Franchising Regulatory Board in Central Visayas (LTFRB-7) will be distributing the direct cash assistance to 1,922 jeepney operators today, November 20, 2020, to help the operators who have been gravely affected by the pandemic.
LTFRB-7 Director Eduardo Montealto Jr., said that the financial assistance would be downloaded to the Pantawid Pasada Cards and would have long been distributed to the jeepney operators for fuel subsidees and other programs since 2018.
This time, each operator will receive a P6,000 subsidy for every jeepney unit they owned.
Read: Jeepney rollout’s day 1 in Cebu City: 90% compliance recorded
The financial assistance is coursed through the operators instead of the drivers, because the operators are the ones responsible for the maintenance of the jeepneys and the general operations.
Many jeepney operators also continued to help the drivers during the pandemic despite not operating on the streets.
“It is now their call if they will be giving help to the drivers from this financial assistance. We encourage them to do so,” said Montealto.
Read: Labella reminds jeepney drivers: Behave or else…
The LTFRB-7 said that the agency hoped that the financial aid would help the operators get back on track as they returned to their street operations especially in Cebu City starting today.
As for the drivers, the LTFRB-7 will also launch their service contracting program on November 22, 2020, where 146 jeepney drivers will be hired to drive the 73 buses in shifts for 18 hours a day.
This program is expected to aid the jeepney drivers, who can no longer be accommodated with the limited return of the jeepneys on the streets and impending modernization that will push through in 2021. /dbs