By Vanne Elaine Terrazola Reelectionist Senator Sonny Angara on Sunday expressed hope that the bill seeking to institutionalize and expand the 20-percent fare discount for students will be signed into law before the summer vacation. The lawmaker said the proposed permanent discount would allow students and their families to enjoy their summer break, saying it would make their travel more "economical." Senator Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara (Facebook / MANILA BULLETIN) "Students need not have to wait for promo fares. They should be given a regular discount on air and boat fares as they return to their home provinces for their summer vacation, starting this April," Angara, who authored and sponsored the Senate's version of the measure, said in a statement. Both chambers of Congress have ratified the bicameral conference committee report harmonizing the Senate Bill No. 1597 and House Bill 8885, or the proposed “Student Fare Discount Act” before they adjourned for the elections last February. The measure will be transmitted to Malacañang for President Duterte’s signature once signed by leaders of the Senate and the House of Representatives. In the proposed student fare discount law, all Filipino students — from elementary to college, as well as those enrolled in technical-vocation schools — will be entitled to a 20-percent discount on regular fares in buses, jeepneys, taxis tricycle, transport network vehicle services (TNVS), Metro Rail Transit, Light Rail Transit; as well as airlines and passenger ships. They should present their current school ID or validated enrollment forms to avail of the discount. The discount will be applicable not only during school days and summer classes, but also on Saturdays and Sundays, Christmas, Lenten, and semestral breaks, and even during school summer vacation. At present, under the circular issued by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), students only get a 20-percent discount on land transportation, like jeepneys and buses. Angara, who has pushed for the measure since the 14th Congress, said making the student fare discount permanent and year-round would "lessen the hardship of parents in sending their children to school as it would cut down their transportation expenses." "A few pesos or centavos saved from the fare discount can be used for other school requirements," he pointed out. “This is especially more significant to the indigent and underprivileged sector that rely on public transport services,” he added. More than 20 million public and private students could benefit from the institutionalized student fare discount, Angara said.