ILOILO City – Modernized jeepneys in this southern city are again offering free rides to medical frontliners, essential workers and authorized persons outside residence (APORs) until yearend.
Phase 2 of the “Libre Sakay” program kicked off on Thursday, said Rizal Alido, board secretary of the Iloilo City Alliance of Operators and Drivers Transport Cooperative (ICAODTC).
Twenty-eight units of modernized jeepneys of ICAODTC plying the Ungka Jaro CPU-Iloilo City route and vice versa joined the program.
The payment system for modernized jeepneys has also been simplified. The weekly submission and approval of payroll will now be through the regional office of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).
The cooperative also opened an account with the Land Bank of the Philippines to download the payment directly to their account.
Under Phase 2, the number of kilometers per unit is limited.
“Sa isa ka unit 16 kilometers and P52.50 per kilometer. Sang una to, waay, as long as nga maka-serbisyo amo gid ‘na ang counted,” said Alido.
Apart from ICAODTC, more or less 20 modernized jeepneys with the route Calumpang-Calaparan Villa Beach and vice versa are also offering free rides, Alido confirmed.
“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 reeling from the coronavirus pandemic.
It is open to drivers of modernized jeeps, traditional public utility jeepneys (PUJs) and passenger buses plying active routes.
In Memorandum Circular No. 2021-029, drivers and/or operators of modern PUJs plying Iloilo City routes receive from the national government a subsidy of P52.50 per kilometer while those of provincial modernized jeepneys, P82.50. To determine their travel length, Global Positioning System (GPS)-capable mobile phones are attached to their vehicles.
On July 1, the public transport service contracting and free ride programs were temporarily suspended.
Meanwhile, Alido confirmed LTFRB has yet to pay them P13 million.
They were expecting the payment yesterday or by Monday.
ICAODTC already received the P10-million partial payment from LTFRB last week./PN
