The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) will soon implement a fare discount scheme for Public Utility Vehicle (PUV) passengers through the Service Contracting Program (SCP).

In a statement on Wednesday, LTFRB chairperson Teofilo Guadiz III said the proposal is being prepared while the budget for the SCP is “ready and the Agency is just waiting for the money to be downloaded to the LTFRB.”

“Pagkatapos niyan tuloy-tuloy na ‘yung SCP (After that the SCP immediately push through),” Guadiz said.

The SCP and the fare reduction program, he said, will follow the guidance of the Department of Transportation (DOTr), specifically the office of DOTr Secretary Jaime Bautista.

“I think ang gagawin lang nila is discount lang ang ibibigay sa mga tao para ‘yung pera na PHP1.2 billion mapagkasya sa maraming mga transport services on a nationwide scale (I think what the Office of Secretary Bautista will do is to just provide a discount so that the budget of PHP1.2 billion will benefit many transport services in a nationwide scale),” he said.

Under the proposal, traditional jeepney fares will be reduced from PHP12 to PHP9, similar to the pre-pandemic fares.

He said they are hopeful that more funds will be allocated for this program so that more people can benefit from it.

“I believe the budget may last only for about six months, half a year. So as early as now, I am requesting the DOTr to come up with additional funding so that we can stretch it until the end of the year,” he said. (PNA)