ILOILO – More than 3.7 million passengers in Region 6 already benefited from Phase 3 of “Libre Sakay”, a service contracting program of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) tapping select passenger jeepneys and buses to offer free rides.
Libre Sakay Phase 3 started on April 18 and was planned to last for 45 to 60 days.
According to Atty. Jun Altura, legal counsel of LTFRB Region 6, most of the passengers were authorized persons outside of residence.
It is unclear when will the program be terminated. There has been no order yet, Altura said, from LTFRB’s central office, although May 31 is a possibility.
A total of 490 units of modernized jeepneys, traditional jeepneys and Ceres buses across Western Visayas are giving free rides.
Here are some of the routes:
* Iloilo City (ITGSI) – Ungka via CPU
* San Miguel – Iloilo City (Jaro Big Market)
* Iloilo City – Calaparan – Villa Beach
* Bacolod City – Kabankalan City
* Bacolod City – Victorias City
* Bacolod City- Escalante City
The service contracting program has a budget of P7 billion under the 2022 General Appropriations Act.
The program covers 1,000 routes nationwide and participated in by 13,000 to 15,000 units of public utility vehicles such as modern and traditional jeepneys, buses, and UV Express./PN
