MANILA — The Senate has increased the 2026 budget for the Public Transport Modernization Program (PTMP) to PHP2.5 billion, nearly doubling the original allocation to strengthen route rationalization and technical planningunder the Department of Transportation (DOTr).

During Thursday’s deliberations, Senator JV Ejercito, sponsor of the DOTr budget, said the Senate raised the PTMP allocation from PHP1.3 billion in the original General Appropriations Bill.

“For the PTMP, under GAB, it has given a budget of PHP1.3 billion. But through the Senate’s intervention, we increased it to PHP2.5 billion. So halos na-doble po natin (we nearly doubled it),” Ejercito said, adding that the additional support would help address long-standing gaps in transport planning.

Senator Risa Hontiveros welcomed the augmentation, noting the importance of sufficient funding to accelerate Local Public Transport Route Plans (LPTRPs). As of November 15, DOTr reported that 1,237 of 1,591 local government units have submitted draft LPTRPs, with 617 approved.

The increased PTMP budget will fund route planning consultations, JICA-assisted studies, LPTRP manual enhancement, operator training, and procurement of consultants for inter-regional and inter-provincial route rationalization.

Ejercito said the funding boost is crucial for DOTr to meet its target of 77 percent route rationalization by mid-2026and 100 percent by the end of the year. He also confirmed that DOTr will submit the requested staffing pattern and organizational structure for the units handling route planning and modernization.

(PNA)