FUEL SUBSIDY. Atty. Athena Nicolette Pilar, Metro Ilocos Norte Council acting general manager, on Monday (Oct. 16, 2023) said some 15,000 public transportation drivers and operators here are scheduled to receive PHP3,000 fuel subsidy from the provincial government on Oct. 26, 2023. She added that no transport groups here have indicated to join the nationwide transport strike. (Photo by Leilanie G. Adriano)
LAOAG CITY – Some 15,000 public transport drivers and operators in Ilocos Norte affiliated with the Metro Ilocos Norte Council (MINC) will receive another round of fuel subsidy from the provincial government starting Oct. 26.
Athena Nicolette Pilar, MINC acting general manager, in an interview Monday said the subsidy program will be rolled out again this year due to the continuing rise in fuel prices.
“In close coordination with our public transport groups, all MINC-registered drivers and operators in the province will receive PHP3,000 each as fuel subsidy starting Oct. 26,” she said.
Pilar said all eligible beneficiaries were pre-identified as MINC members who are supporting Ilocos Norte's vision to improve transportation services in key economic zones.
Ilocos Norte’s fuel subsidy program, which started in 2021 and was implemented twice in 2022, is separate from the national government’s Pantawid Pasada Program.
Under this program, subsidy vouchers worth PHP1,000 were given in 2021 and PHP1,000 and PHP1,500 were distributed in 2022.
As promised by Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Joseph Manotoc, the amount for this year's fuel subsidy was increased to PHP3,000, and will be given as cash.
The release of fuel subsidy came amid the planned nationwide transport strike staged by the Manibela group on Monday but Pilar said no transportation group in the province has indicated its participation in the ongoing mass action.
MINC is a department under the provincial government that deals with transportation affairs. (PNA)
