President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered a recalibration of the government’s free train ride program for students, limiting the offer to LRT-2.
“The instruction of the President is to recalibrate the policy. That’s the word of the President. During the initial discussion, there was a consensus that the program will cover all—MRT-3, PNR, and LRT-2. But during the Cabinet meeting (Tuesday), the instruction of the President is to recalibrate and focus on LRT-2,” Transport Undersecretary Cesar Chavez said.
On July 1, Marcos approved free rides for students in Metro Rail Transit-3 (MRT-3), Light Rail Transit-2 (LRT-2), and Philippine National Railways (PNR) trains.
Now, only the LRT-2 will offer free rides to students from Aug. 22 to Nov. 4, 2022.
Chavez said LRT-2, which goes to the University Belt in Manila, carries more students than MRT-3 or PNR.
In a separate message to reporters, the DoTr confirmed that the Libreng Sakay for Students Program will be for LRT-2.
But it added that during the Cabinet meeting, “(Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista) has recommended to the President to extend the Libreng Sakay for Students also for MRT-3 and PNR.”
Earlier, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said it would stop the free bus rides program for some routes due to depleted funds, saying it needed about P1.4 billion to continue the rides.
Free rides were stopped on 118 routes but continued for those riding the EDSA Bus Lane and Commonwealth Route 7 until the end of July.
Amid these cutbacks, Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte urged the DOTr and the Budget department to find funds to extend the Libreng Sakay program at least until the end of the year.
“Carrying on with Libreng Sakay should top the concerns of both the DOTr and DBM, considering that one of the very first official acts of Mr. Marcos on his first full day as President last July 1 was for the DOTr to carry on with this program for the benefit of Metro Manila commuters,” Villafuerte said.
Villafuerte issued the statement after Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said the DOTr will seek an additional outlay of P1.4 billion as the agency has no available funds in its 2022 budget to continue with Libreng Sakay until the end of December.
“Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista should exert his very best effort in making sure Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman is able to source or realign at least P1.4 billion in public funds to bankroll Libreng Sakay till the year end, in keeping with President Marcos’ July 1 directive,” Villafuerte said.
“This is the very least that the new administration can do for poor and low-income commuters in the NCR (National Capital region) at this time of a global oil shock that has jacked up headline inflation and prompted the government to increase public transport fares,” he said.
President Marcos approved last July 1 the recommendation of Bautista to extend the free rides program for buses plying the EDSA Carousel Busway until end-December.
Bautista, who had proposed the extension of the free rides in a memorandum—and which President Marcos promptly approved—was quoted as saying in a “Laging Handa” press briefing at the Palace this week that they would seek additional budget from the Department of Budget and Management.
At the same time, Villafuerte also appealed to the government to speed up the release of the approved P1,000 fuel subsidy for the over 600,000 qualified tricycle driver-beneficiaries of this cash aid as listed by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
He also renewed his appeal for the DOTr to include senior citizens, persons with disability (PWDs) and solo parents among the beneficiaries of the free rides at the MRT, LRT, and PNR; and for the 19th Congress to write a 2023 General Appropriations Act (GAA) that will include a budget sufficient enough to carry on with Libreng Sakay till next year at least.
Also on Wednesday, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) said it will leave it up to colleges and universities to fully implement face-to-face classes
“We cannot require all schools to do face-to-face because there are schools that have been doing distance learning and flexible learning even before the pandemic,” CHED chairperson Prospero De Vera III said Wednesday.
De Vera said CHED was not like the Department of Education, which imposed a mandatory resumption of in-person classes, noting that the basic education program has an almost uniform curriculum.
“Some degree programs really need a lot of face-to-face, especially skills-based programs, while other programs can be delivered by flexible learning so we are leaving it to the universities to decide what is the appropriate mix,” he said.
The DepEd earlier said starting Nov. 2, all public and private schools should have transitioned to five days of in-person classes.
