Mayor Manuel “Chiquiting” Sagarbarria is allocating ₱10 million in counterpart subsidies for public transportation drivers in Dumaguete City amid rising fuel prices.
This was disclosed by Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) Negros Island Region Director Gerry Llena on Thursday, March 12.
Llena has been campaigning for local governments to allocate counterparts to the subsidies expected from the national government for the drivers.
Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson confirmed on Thursday that the provincial government will also allocate counterpart funds, but he would like to know first what the specific shares of the LTFRB and the town and city governments will be.
Cadiz City Mayor Salvador Escalante, Jr., president of the Negros Association of Chief Executives, said Llena is set to meet with him on Friday to discuss the proposed counterpart subsidy of the LGUs.
Llena noted that the mayors could come up with their own lists of public transportation drivers to be submitted to the provincial government.
Meanwhile, Lacson said the provincial government distributed ₱56.4 million in yearly financial assistance to barangays in Negros Occidental on Wednesday.
However, he announced that after Wednesday’s distribution, the provincial government will put the program on hold because of the Middle East crisis.
“We have to make sure that we have enough funds to run the provincial government before we continue this financial assistance to barangays,” Lacson said, adding that he hopes the Middle East crisis will not worsen.
The provincial government will need resources to help Negrenses affected by the Middle East crisis, Lacson said.*
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