The Office of the Vice President (OVP) on Tuesday assured aid to commuters who will be affected by a planned three-day nationwide transport strike transport groups Manibela and Piston starting Thursday through its Libreng Sakay (free ride) program.

“The Office of the Vice President (OVP) is prepared to augment its ‘Libreng Sakay’ buses to commuters that will be affected by the three-day nationwide transport strike,” the OVP said in a statement.

The Libreng Sakay will be launched at the Parañaque Integrated Exchange Terminal (PITX)-Naic route, in addition to 11 existing bus routes in Metro Manila, Cebu, Bacolod, and Davao.

“The new route will cater to passengers starting from Naic and seven other nearby towns in the province of Cavite all the way to the central terminal in Parañaque City,” the OVP added.

To date, there are four OVP libreng sakay buses dispatched in the National Capital Region (NCR) for Quiapo to Commonwealth and EDSA Carousel: PITX to Monumento route, and vice versa; with one bus each for Cebu, Bacolod, and Davao.

For Cebu, existing routes include IT Park to SM Seaside, Brgy. Mepza to Brgy. Opon in Lapu-Lapu City, and Jagobiao to M.C. Briones in Mandaue City, and vice versa; three routes from Bacolod Public Plaza to Brgy. Handumanan, Brgy. Punta Taytay, Progreso Village, Vista Alegre, and vice versa in Bacolod City; as well as three routes from Roxas Avenue to Calinan, Lasang, and Toril, and vice versa in Davao City.

As of July 31, the OVP’s Libreng Sakay has already served 1,366,193 passengers nationwide. (PNA)