Cash assistance amounting to P 3,000 is being handed out to public utility vehicle drivers and operators in Ilocos Norte as a response of the Ilocos Norte provincial government to the continuing fuel price hike faced by the transportation sector.
Through the Metro Ilocos Norte Council (MINC) Office, Atty. Nikki Pilar, MINC Administrative Officer explained that 13,000 tricycle and 800 jeepney drivers and operators were logged as beneficiaries of the “Aid to PUVs in Crisis Situation Program”.
She said, Governor Matthew Marcos Manotoc directed MINC to speed up the program’s implementation due to the rising cost of gasoline and other petroleum products, which is putting additional strain on the pandemic-affected transportation sector.
The Ilocos Norte Provincial Government is considering increasing the allocation to the cash assistance program if the global oil crisis persists in the coming months.
In October 2021, Manotoc spearheaded the implementation of the “Pantawid Pasada Program,” which provides fuel subsidies to all MINC-affiliated PUV drivers and operators, with participating gas stations supplying each tricycle and jeepney driver with Php 1,000.00 and Php 1,500.00 worth of gasoline, respectively.
