Fuel prices are forecast to climb further next week, with diesel potentially reaching P130 per liter and gasoline crossing the P100 mark — projections that are sharpening pressure on the government to move faster on aid distribution to the transport sector.
Senator Risa Hontiveros, the Senate Deputy Majority Leader, sent a letter to Budget Secretary Rolando Toledo on March 19 asking for a concrete distribution plan covering PUV drivers, operators, and transport cooperatives under the P30-billion cash aid pool that the Department of Social Welfare and Development had set aside in response to rising fuel costs.
An initial technical review cited by Hontiveros found that transport operators are already losing more than P1,000 in daily revenue per vehicle — a shortfall that holds even after accounting for the excise tax suspension, recent fare adjustments, and the existing fuel subsidy.
“This revenue gap persists even after accounting for the combined effects of the excise tax suspension, recent fare adjustments, and the current fuel subsidy. It effectively forces transport operations to run below full capacity, as cooperatives can no longer cover the daily costs required to keep their fleets on the road,” she said.
Hontiveros argued that the eligibility threshold for DSWD support should be broadened beyond its usual poverty-focused criteria. “Even those not currently classified under the poorest of the poor require urgent supplemental income,” she said, warning that without a clear mechanism, the transport sector faces service cutbacks and job losses.
“The impending reduction in service levels among transport cooperatives could lead to involuntary unemployment for drivers. Without a clear mechanism to ensure DSWD support reaches them, we risk a severe disruption of our public transport system,” she added.
The DSWD fund, drawn from its Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation program, provides P5,000 per beneficiary and had already identified tricycle and jeepney drivers among its intended recipients.
On the same day Hontiveros filed her letter, the DBM announced that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had ordered the release of P21.47 billion in public funds, of which P2.49 billion goes to the Department of Transportation’s Fuel Subsidy Program for drivers and operators. Marcos also directed the DOTr to hold off on planned fare increases, citing the fuel price surge tied to the ongoing Middle East conflict.
Industry sources project next week’s pump price adjustments at P14.00 to P14.50 per liter for diesel and P7.00 to P7.50 per liter for gasoline, following double-digit increases already recorded this week.
