MORE than P30 million in funds for the payment to the bus operators of the EDSA Carousel have been released by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) on Tuesday.
The payment, said the LTFRB, was delayed for weeks.
In a Super Radyo dzBB interview, LTFRB chairperson Atty. Cheloy Garafil said they have “enough funds” to cater to the salaries of the bus operators under the government’s free ridership program.
“In a span of two weeks, naayos natin ‘yung payout nila. Ngayon nasa week 10 na kami so almost one month din na mahigit ‘yung naayos namin. More than P310 million na po ‘yung aming nailalabas na pera for [that],” she said, noting that the program is now on its 13th week.
“Nagpasalamat sila kahapon kasi napabilisan ‘yung pagbayad sa kanila in just a span of two weeks. Na-appreciate naman nila that’s why they committed na dadagdagan talaga nila ‘yung mga buses diyan sa EDSA busway, especially kapag rush hour,” she said.
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. earlier this month extended the free rdes at the EDSA Bus Carousel until December 2022.
metrosundaily
