Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez is requesting Congress to allocate P5 billion for a public utility vehicle (PUV) fuel subsidy program in the 2027 national budget, citing the ongoing financial burden on operators and drivers caused by volatile global oil prices.
During a hearing of the Senate Subcommittee on Finance regarding the Department of Transportation’s (DOTr) proposed 2027 budget, Lopez pointed out that the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) omitted funding for the subsidy initiative in its National Expenditure Program (NEP).
The appeal aligns with directives from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who instructed the transport agency to execute measures mitigating the impact of elevated petroleum costs on the livelihoods of PUV drivers.
Lopez emphasized that direct financial aid remains a crucial tool for the executive branch to shield the public transport sector from market volatility driven by international conflicts.
“This fuel subsidy is timely. In recent months—starting when the unrest in the Middle East began, I believe around the last week of February or March—oil prices surged,” Lopez said. “Our initial response and solution for our transport groups, drivers, and operators is this fuel subsidy,” he added.
Recalling previous implementations, the Cabinet official highlighted that a P2.5-billion fuel subsidy allocation in 2025 was completely disbursed within two to three months, coinciding with a P10-per-liter discount mechanism for qualified beneficiaries.
Lopez stressed the broad coverage and necessity of the program across multiple public transport categories.
“It is a tremendous help to transport groups—from regular jeepneys to various other modes of transportation, with the exception of tricycles, as they do not fall under the LTFRB’s jurisdiction,” he said.
To ensure continuity of the assistance program into the coming fiscal year, the DOTr leadership plans to formally lobby both legislative chambers to incorporate the funding into the final general appropriations measure.
“We will once again appeal to the Committee on Finance, the Senate, and Congress for the fuel subsidy budget for 2027,” Lopez said.
If approved by lawmakers, the P5-billion budget will provide the government with sufficient resources to deploy swift financial relief to transport workers should fuel prices remain elevated through 2027.