The Department of Transportation (DOTr) said that it would remain focused on providing financial assistance along with other initiatives to lessen the impact of the recent oil price hike on members of the public transportation sector.

In a press conference together with leaders of transport groups, Acting DOTr Secretary Giovanni “Banoy” Lopez expressed that the transportation agency along other government bodies were keen on implementing and building on measures that could alleviate the financial burden of drivers.

Among the measures that Lopez mentioned were set for implementation was the P12 fuel discount for public utility jeepneys and UV Express drivers capped at 150 liters of fuel per week, beginning on 15 August.

Though previously being set at just P10, the transportation secretary explained that the expanded reduction was expected to save drivers up to P1,800 on a weekly basis.

Even with the savings in mind, he acknowledged that the discount was not a sufficient solution to oil prices with petroleum products such as diesel costing P93.38 per liter on average.

The inadequacy of the DOTr’s discount had supposedly led Lopez to communicating with the UPLIFT Committee where he along with Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian devised a way to include the transport in monthly assistance provided for low-income households.

“Based on my discussion with Secretary Rex, transport groups will be included in the UPLIFT assistance for the next rollout of the P2,000 monthly assistance until December,” he said.

Under the Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food, and Transport (UPLIFT) Assistance Program, various families from different sectors are provided with a P2,000 monthly assistance starting from July up to the end of the year.

UPLIFT was a program from the DSWD that was created in response to the oil price shock in the first half of 2026 brought about by tensions within the Middle East where the country imports a majority of its oil supply.

Following the trend of cash assistance, Lopez also said that it would temporarily be suspending its activities and engagements under the DOTr’s Public Transportation Modernization Program (PTMP) Amortization Assistance to redirect its funding for relief initiatives.

The transportation secretary said that its main purpose for recalibrating its approach to the program was that there were numerous individuals that could no longer cope with the cost of paying their loans for modernized vehicles and oil prices.

Lopez noted that existing members of the program would be prioritized but expressed that the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) was in the process of finalizing the memorandum of agreement.

Other measures that he mentioned were the extension of previously existing initiatives such as the toll discounts for provincial buses, terminal fee waiver for PUV operators at PITX in Paranaque, and the waiver of the monthly terminal fee for public transport terminals in the country.

Fare hike remains suspended

Earlier in the press conference, Lopez stated that the reason for the numerous initiatives was due to the continued suspension of the proposed P1 to P2 price hike.

He reiterated that it was President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. that had instructed them to do so, stressing that commuters should not be passed the burden when it came to matters concerning the public transportation sector.

“The fare hike of P1 and P2 will remain suspended because the President told us, particularly now that oil prices are unstable, the President told us that these types of problems had to be resolved by the government and the burden should not be passed on to the commuting public,” he said.

Lopez, however, explained that suspension did not necessarily mean that the proposed hike was disapproved, it was just a matter of ensuring that it was implemented at the appropriate time.