To ease the everyday expenses of senior citizens and persons with disability (PWDs), President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered a 50-percent discount for these sectors on the Light Rail Transit (LRT) and Metro Rail Transit (MRT) lines in Metro Manila.

This expands the 20-percent discount given to senior citizens, PWDs and students. On 20 June, Marcos ordered the Department of Transportation to give a 50-percent fare discount to students on the LRT-1, LRT-2 and MRT-3 lines.

On Wednesday, Marcos went to the MRT-3 Santolan-Annapolis Station in Quezon City to meet senior citizens who ride the trains.

The event came ahead of the observance of the 47th National Disability Week on 17 to 23 July.

“We have given a 50-percent discount to students as long as they present their student IDs,” he said. “Now we are adding senior citizens and PWDs to the 50-percent discount.”

According to Marcos, some 13 million senior citizens and seven million PWDs will benefit from the 50-percent fare discount.

He emphasized that students, seniors and PWDs need the help of the government as they have limited incomes and allowances.

“We thought we could do this to help our PWD commuters and the senior citizens who are here with us this morning,” he said.

To avail of the discount, seniors and PWDs would need to present their ID cards as they purchase a ticket.