The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is seeking P5 billion for its Service Contracting Program (SCP) in 2027 to keep public utility vehicles on the road and shield commuters from the impact of rising fuel prices.

Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez said Saturday the program would allow the government to pay participating transport operators and drivers directly, reducing pressure to pass higher operating costs on to passengers.

“When we have service contracting, the government pays our transport groups, not the commuters. At the same time, we can be assured of transportation. 

We encourage drivers and operators to continue operating because the government will pay you, and we will not take it from our commuters,” the DOTr quoted Lopez as saying during a Senate Finance Subcommittee hearing on the agency’s proposed 2027 budget.

The funding request follows a national directive to provide assistance to the transport sector, including commuters.

The DOTr said it faced a similar funding shortfall last year before Congress provided P1 billion for the program. Of that amount, P800 million was allocated to land transportation and used in May and June.

Lopez said this year’s funding was largely concentrated in Metro Manila despite transport groups and commuters nationwide facing similar pressure from higher crude oil prices.

“The problem we experience here when it comes to crude oil prices is also being experienced in different provinces across the Philippines. 

Our commuters face the same problem. So, the computation of why it’s P5 billion is because we wanted to apply the service contracting program nationwide and to cover as many transport groups and commuters as possible,” the DOTr quoted Lopez as saying.

The DOTr is asking the Senate to restore funding for the program as lawmakers deliberate on the agency’s proposed budget for next year.