CEBU, Philippines - The Land Trans-portation Office (LTO) 7 admitted that not all Pantawid Pasada cards were distributed to the beneficiaries because many of them opted not to claim it.
“They have several reasons. Others say that P1,000 is a very small amount and claiming it from LTO takes time,†said LTO-7 Regional Director Raul Aguilos said.
Based on their records, a total of 7,980 cards were released out of the 11,858 cards intended for the Region.
Aguilos also said that some cards that were released to the operators were not distributed to the drivers who have unsettled debts with their operators.
Ryan Benjamin Yu, President of the Cebu Confederation of Transport Operators and Drivers Ass. Inc. said that some cards bear the wrong plate numbers of their units, thus, they could not use it.
Yu, who also chairs the Cebu Integrated Transport Services Cooperative, said that he was able to get 300 cards but only half of these were used.
“Kay ang uban nga cards are bearing a plate number nga wala na ang mga units. Ang mga accredited gasoline stations dili na sila motubil sa unit kung dili mao ang plate number sa unit ug ang plate number nga naa sa card,â€Yu explained.
Yu is wondering where the implementing agencies got the wrong plate numbers.
“Klaro kaayo nga walay proper consultations. Ang ilang gikonsulta ang Manila transport groups ra, walay labot ang provincial operators. Mao nang nagkayagaw ang implementasyon,†Yu said.
The Pantawid Pasada Cards are given out to beneficiaries and at no cost.
The Pantawid Pasada Program is an interim measure of the government to cushion the impact of high fuel prices specifically among the public utility jeepneys.
Each Pantawid Pasada card is pre-loaded with P1,050.00.
It can be recalled that President Benigno “Noynoy†Aquino III issued Executive Order No. 32 or the so-called the Pantawid Pasada program as fuel assistance for jeepney drivers. (FREEMAN)