ILOILO – Traditional jeeps in Iloilo city and province are not participating in Phase 2 of “Libre Sakay” for medical frontliners, essential workers and authorized persons outside residence (APORs).
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has yet to settle its remaining balance to drivers and operators who joined Phase 1 in April to June this year, according to Raymundo Parcon, president of the Iloilo City Alliance of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association (ICLAJODA).
Only 20 to 30 percent of around 5,000 drivers have so far received payment, he said.
The amount of LTFRB’s aid to traditional jeepneys is determined by the distance they cover – at P27 per kilometer.
“Ang majority waay pa natagaan sang payout,” Parcon told Panay News.
“Libre Sakay”, a Service Contracting Program (SCP) of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and LTFRB under the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan 2), aims to help the transport sector affected by the coronavirus disease health crisis.
It is open to drivers of modernized jeeps, traditional public utility jeepneys (PUJs) and passenger buses plying active routes.
According to Parcon, LTFRB’s payment scheme for traditional jeepneys is coursed through their Gcash accounts.
Traditional jeeps were also not able to purchase Global Positioning System (GPS)-capable mobile phones that could determine travel length, unlike modern ones already equipped with GPS.
Last week, 28 modernized jeepneys under the Iloilo City Alliance of Operators and Drivers Transport Cooperative plying the Ungka Jaro CPU-Iloilo City route and vice versa started offering free rides.
The program will be until Dec. 31.
The payment system for modernized jeepneys has been simplified. The weekly submission and approval of payroll will now be through LTFRB in Region 6./PN
