House solon seeks approval of DOTr’s ‘Libreng Sakay’ budget
Another P6.6B needed for ‘backlog’ plate numbers
A LAWMAKER has urged his colleagues in Congress to grant the Department of Transportation’s (DOTr) request for a P12 billion budget to continue the “Libreng Sakay” program and P6.6 billion to address the “backlog” in releasing plate numbers.
During the DOTr’s budget briefing, Lee noted that despite the 121.5% increase in their proposed budget, certain programs of the agency that were included in the 2022 General Appropriations Act (GAA) were no longer in the proposed 2023 budget.
“For this year, nag-increase ang inyong proposed budget by 121%. Despite this, napansin ko na maraming naalis from 2022 GAA, yung budget for active transport, yung transition for transport workers, at yung isa dito yung Libreng Sakay katulad ng sa EDSA carousel,” AGRI Party-list Representative Wilbert T. Lee said.
“During this time na may pandemic pa rin, na sobrang taas ng presyo ng gasolina, bakit inalis itong Libreng Sakay? Without such program, ano ‘yung alternative na naisip ng DOTr for this? Para makatulong naman tayo sa mobility at maibsan ang paghihirap ng ating mga kababayan,” Lee added.
Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said they requested P12 billion for programs such as the Libreng Sakay, a component of the service-contracting program of DOTr, but the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) did not include such funding.
It was stated in the budget briefing that since Libreng Sakay is a non-recurring item, the allocation was scrapped despite it’s high-impact and benefit to the public.
Lee then appealed to grant the requested budget of DOTr for Libreng Sakay. “At this point, I urge my colleagues that we reconsider granting the DOTr the P12 billion budget dahil malaking tulong ito sa ating commuting public. Sabi nga mismo ng DOTr, walang katumbas ang benepisyo nito. Hindi ito dapat alisin,” Lee reiterated.
The motion was duly noted by the Chair, saying it will be addressed during the period of amendments.
