Piñol vows to oversee Mindanao rail project; Eleazar wants another PUV fuel subsidy

MAWAB, Davao de Oro - Two senatorial candidates under the Ping Lacson-Tito Sotto tandem want oversight of the Mindanao Railway Transit and another round of fuel subsidies for public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers.

During his speech at a campaign rally in Mawab, Davao de Oro, senatorial candidate and former Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol asked Davaeños for their support pointing out the need for another Mindanaoan senator.

By June 30, Piñol said only Senators Bong Go, Ronald dela Rosa, and Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III would be in the Senate as Senators Manny Pacquiao and Juan Miguel Zubiri would end their terms after the 18th Congress.

“Right now, we need a lot of representation in the Senate because the term of President [Rodrigo] Duterte, the first president from Mindanao, will end by June 30 of this year,” Piñol, a former member of the Duterte cabinet, said in mixed English and Cebuano.

If elected, Piñol said he would “make sure” that the Mindanao Railway Project from Tagum City in Davao del Norte to Digos City in Davao del Sur would be implemented.

He stressed the importance of having someone who would defend the budget of projects intended for the provinces in Mindanao.

‘Talagang gutom ang aabutin’

Senatorial candidate and former Philippine National Police Chief Guillermo Eleazar asked the government to provide another round of fuel subsidies for PUV drivers after the public transport sector called for fare hikes due to the recent oil price hikes.

“Pataas ng pataas ang presyo ng langis habang paliit ng paliit naman ang naiuuwing kita ng mga tsuper kada araw. Kung magpapatuloy ang problemang ito na walang aksyon mula sa gobyerno ay talagang gutom ang aabutin ng mga nasa public transport sector at ng kanilang pamilya,” Eleazar said in a statement.

(Oil prices keep on increasing while drivers' income keeps shrinking. If the government won't act on this, the public transport sector and their families would go hungry)

His suggestion also came after the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) recently said a fare increase was unlikely.

“Kung hindi bukas ang LTFRB sa suhestyon ng mga drayber, sana ay magkaroon na lang ng bagong ayuda sa paraan ng fuel subsidy. Sa ganitong paraan, magkakaroon ng dagdag na pangdilihensya ang mga tsuper,” he said.

(If the LTFRB is not open to drivers' suggestions, I hope there will be another fuel subsidy for them. Through this, they will have extra money to meet their needs.)

While he empathized with the PUV drivers, the senatorial bet said increasing the fare would be untimely as people had lost their jobs and experienced salary cuts.

“This is the part where government intervention is needed and I think the middle ground is to ensure the continuity of the assistance to the PUV sector,” Eleazar said. — DVM, GMA News