TRUCKERS will submit tomorrow (Jan 29) a petition that seeks to include the industry in the discounted fuel program. The program gives a P1 fuel discount to public utility vehicles (PUVs).
The scheme will mean fuel savings of P100-P200 per truck for every one-way trip, or about 5.5% of a company’s fuel expenses, Confederation of Truckers Association of the Philippines (CTAP) president Col. Rodolfo De Ocampo told PortCalls.
The petition will be submitted to the Department of Transportation and Communications and the Office of the President at the start of a four-day energy summit.
De Ocampo said the inclusion will prevent further increases in trucking rates and give truckers the opportunity to sustain a rebound in a sector that has been anemic for the past three years.
He said incentives provided to PUVs should also be enjoyed by truckers who are key contributors to economic growth.
“(Inclusion in the discounted fuel program) will be a big help to us. It will mitigate the effects of the rising fuel cost on our business,” De Ocampo said.
“(Its) effects… will mostly be felt by consumers through lower logistics cost translating to lower market prices of major commodities,” he added.
Truckers want the inclusion because they claim the Malacañang-approved oil tariff cut is not expected to fully address the problem of high fuel prices.
The price of diesel, the most commonly used fuel by trucks, increased almost 15% in the last few months from P32 per liter.
Last year, the trucking industry saw a 10% growth. Rates have remained the same but not for long. North Harbor truckers are jacking up their rates by 16% starting Valentine’s Day. Even CTAP wants a rate hike.
CTAP said business growth could have been higher kast year if not for the continuing volatility of fuel prices.
