MANILA, Philippines — A public utility jeepney transport group on Friday said jeepney drivers should receive the government’s P5,000 fuel assistance alongside tricycle drivers, claiming that its sector consumed more diesel, carried more passengers and was also being squeezed by rising fuel prices. MANIBELA Chairman Mar Valbuena, in an exclusive text message to The Manila Times, questioned why jeepney drivers have yet to receive the same assistance as tricycle drivers despite continuing to serve commuters through calamities and daily hardship. “Whether it rains, the sun blazes, a storm comes, an earthquake strikes, every kind of calamity, disaster and suffering, we ‘drivers’ are here, ready to serve the ‘commuters’ whatever the challenge of the weather and the struggle of life, now where are we?” Valbuena told The Manila Times. Valbuena said jeepney drivers should have been included at the same time in the fuel subsidy distribution. “We consume more diesel, we carry more passengers, diesel prices are higher, I hope the fuel subsidies were given alongside what was granted,” he said. The government announced that tricycle and jeepney drivers in Metro Manila would receive P5,000 each in fuel subsidy starting March 17 to cushion the impact of rising oil prices. The issue gained more urgency after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the suspension of the planned public transport fare hike on Wednesday, saying commuters should be spared from additional costs for now.