Vice President Jejomar Binay on Friday appealed to oil companies for a bigger rollback in their prices and urged jeepney drivers to explore the use of alternative fuel to help bring down their cost of operations.
In a dialogue with some 300 leaders of different jeepney and transport groups at his office at the Coconut Palace, Binay also said jeepney drivers and operators were now eligible for membership to the Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF) or Pag-IBIG Fund.
Energy Undersecretary Jay Layug, who was also present at the meeting, said that oil companies were set to roll back gasoline prices by as much as P1.89 per liter and prices of diesel fuel by P1.87 per liter.
Binay added, “There is sufficient basis for the rollback but I also urge the oil companies to review their costs to determine if a higher rollback would be possible so as to alleviate the condition of our drivers.”
The Vice President also called for more efforts in seeking alternative fuels for the transport sector.
“We cannot avoid that fact that there will come a time when we would have to look for an alternative fuel for our jeepneys. We should prepare for it because the price of gasoline is so burdensome. And one doesn’t know when it will rise or go down, thus impairing our drivers’ source of income,” he said.
The drivers raised several laments at the dialogue, among them the alleged increase in the amount demanded for “kotong” (bribes or grease money), rising cost of spare parts and the increase in fines for traffic violations.
They also requested additional government assistance for all drivers.
Binay said he would coordinate with the concerned government agencies to look into whether the increase in fines could be suspended pending a more thorough study of the issue.
He also said he would look into the feasibility of creating a cooperative which will serve as the central supplier of spare parts for jeepneys.
He also advised the officials of the transport groups to report to their respective mayors’ police officers and traffic enforcers who demanded bribes and file the appropriate suits.
The Vice President, who chairs the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) and the Pag-IBIG board of trustees, said that once drivers and operators became members of Pag-IBIG, they would be entitled to all benefits available to regular members, including housing and short-term loans.
“Your main benefit is that you will be allowed to get a loan so that you can build or buy your own house,” Binay said.