On Monday, President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the Department of Transportation to make the beep cards free for commuters amid the implementation of a cashless payment system in public transportation.
Duterte, however, clarified that the beep card would be free of charge, but the passengers would need to pay for the fares or the load.
“Give the card free,” Duterte said in the late-night briefing on Monday.
“I would like to talk to [Transportation] Secretary [Arthur] Tugade next meeting because I would raise with him the possibility of giving it free,” he added.
DOTr implemented the “no beep card, no ride” policy at EDSA Busway on October 1 but suspended it on Monday, October 5, after commuters complained of the expensive beep cards.
A passenger would need to pay P80 for the card, P65 pesos for the minimum maintaining balance, and a P5 convenience fee, P150 in total.
The President said it was “heartbreaking” to see commuters burdened in paying for a Beep card.
Duterte tells DOTr chief to give beep cards free
“Card lang naman ‘yan, ibigay na ‘yan libre. Bakit pabayaran pa ‘yan? We have been wasting so many billions to corruption tapos ‘yan hindi mabigay?” he said.
DOTr chief Tugade earlier threatened to use Beep Cards at EDSA Busway if AF Payment, the cashless payment system operator, will not immediately remove the card’s payment.
AF Payment responded, “We are selling the Beep cards at cost. Starting October 1, BeepTM cards are being sold at cost, which is at P80.”
“This amount goes directly to the card manufacturer and not to AF Payments,” it added.
The company said they would give 125,000 free Beep cards “to ease the burden of passengers who have challenges buying a Beep card.”
“Alam mo, if that is how it is being implemented, hurriedly, or it’s for public interest that it be implemented kaagad, make provisions for these people… those who have nothing in life,” Duterte said.
“Ayaw ko nang makita sunod na you have failed to make some provisions for this. You have to have extra Beep diyan na magbigay kayo ng card na hindi mag-beep… Okay na yan, basta pasakayin ninyo ang mga tao,” he added.