The Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) is drafting guidelines for the PHP200 million allocation for the maritime transportation sector under the government’s Service Contracting Program (SCP), which aims to provide fare discounts to boat passengers.
Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez said on Friday, April 9, that PHP200 million of the PHP1 billion SCP fund has been earmarked for MARINA. “This is still being discussed by MARINA, with the guidelines for the maritime sector currently being ironed out,” he said.
This marks the first time the maritime sector will implement a SCP, unlike the land public transportation sector, which previously carried out a similar “Libreng Sakay” program during the pandemic.
While the SCP for the maritime sector is primarily designed to benefit passengers, Lopez noted that implementation is more complex due to the inclusion of rolling cargo.
Authorities are still determining the basis for payments—whether these will be computed per nautical mile, per kilometer, or per passenger. The program is also expected to exclude major ports, which already have multiple transport links connecting passengers to mass transit hubs.
For now, the focus of the maritime SCP is to improve island-to-island connectivity, particularly in areas that rely heavily on boat travel.
Given these considerations, it is unlikely that the maritime SCP will be rolled out next week, April 15, alongside the land transportation component.
Under the land SCP, drivers receive between PHP30 and PHP100 per kilometer traveled, serving as a guaranteed income top-up in addition to regular fare collections. Payments apply to a maximum of 100 kilometers per day, although drivers may continue operating beyond this cap.
Commuters, meanwhile, are entitled to a 20 percent fare discount, on top of the existing 20 percent discount for senior citizens, students, and persons with disabilities (PWDs).
