RISING diesel prices nearly halved the average daily take-home pay of public utility jeepney drivers in Quezon City (QC), pushing their earnings to below Metro Manila’s minimum wage, according to a congressional think tank.
In its September study, the Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department (CPBRD) found that drivers’ average daily take-home pay fell 46.7% to P681 from P1,278 as diesel prices surged, below Metro Manila’s P695 daily minimum wage in June.
“Volatile global oil prices have disproportionately impacted public utility jeepney drivers in the Philippines,” the think tank said, adding that higher fuel costs “directly and invariably erode their already limited meager take-home pay.”
The study surveyed 51 jeepney drivers at the SM North EDSA Terminal in Quezon city on June 2.
Diesel prices in the city rose to a peak of P145.30 per liter in early April from P57.20 per liter in February, according to the report.
With fares unchanged amid higher operating costs, the think tank said drivers also reduced their average operating hours to 11.8 hours a day from 13.2 hours and their daily roundtrips to 7.6 from 9.
“Because fuel accounts for a substantial portion of their operating expenses,” drivers had “no choice but to maintain their regular fuel utilization regardless of the reduced earnings,” the researchers said.
The government responded by providing one-time P5,000 cash relief assistance through the Department of Social Welfare and Development and a P10-per-liter fuel discount through the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).
However, the CPBRD said the assistance was insufficient to offset the losses incurred by drivers during the fuel price surge.
When diesel prices reached P118.90 per liter, the P5,000 cash assistance covered only 2.1 days of fuel expenses for a driver consuming 20 liters a day, according to the study.
From mid-March to mid-April, cumulative fuel-cost losses reached P40,087, meaning the cash assistance covered only 12.5% of the estimated loss, the report said.
“While the P10-per-liter fuel discount provided a continuing reduction in daily fuel expenses,” the think tank said. “However, neither instrument was designed to fully compensate drivers for a prolonged and exceptionally large fuel-price shock.”
The study also found gaps in the distribution of government assistance. Only 36 of the 51 drivers surveyed said they received cash assistance, while reported payouts ranged from P5,000 to P18,000.
At a House committee hearing on April 28, LTFRB officials said outdated databases and duplicate entries required agency personnel to conduct manual verification, contributing to delays in the distribution of assistance.
“These stemmed from systemic administrative inefficiencies and governance gaps, particularly the reliance on manual processes and outdated registries, which created bottlenecks, while poor communication amplified confusion,” the CPBRD said.
The study also raised concerns over the fiscal sustainability of repeatedly relying on fuel subsidies during periods of elevated oil prices.
Government fuel subsidy allocations reached P16.4 billion from 2018 to 2025, while national government debt stood at P17.71 trillion in 2025, according to the report.
The CPBRD said modernizing public transportation would be a more sustainable response to future oil price shocks.
The think tank recommended accelerating vehicle electrification, establishing a centralized beneficiary registry linked to the national identification system, expanding digital disbursement channels and creating rule-based triggers for emergency assistance.
The measure, it said, could help speed up and better target government support while reducing reliance on repeated emergency subsidies. — Pexcel John Bacon