MANILA, Philippines — A total of 617,806 tricycle drivers nationwide will receive a fuel cash subsidy to ease the burden of fuel price hikes, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said on Tuesday.
DILG Secretary Eduardo Año said that the fuel subsidy, which is a project under the “Pantawid Pasada Program for Tricycle Drivers,” will be distributed by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) through the beneficiaries’ e-wallet accounts, branches of the Landbank of the Philippines (LBP), or off-site payout by the local government units (LGUs).
“Inaasahan namin na sa pamamagitan ng fuel subsidy na ito, maiibsan kahit paano ang paghihirap ng mga tricycle drivers dulot ng sunod-sunod na pagtaas ng presyo ng krudo at paghina ng biyahe dahil sa COVID-19 pandemic. Ito ang paraan ng pamahalaan para ipamalas ang kanyang pagmamalasakit sa ating mga tricycle drivers,” Año said in a statement.
(We hope that this fuel subsidy will ease the hardship of tricycle drivers due to the subsequent increase in crude oil prices and the limited trips because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a method by the government to prove its concern to our tricycle drivers.)
According to Año, the beneficiaries are from:
• Region 1- 67,536
• Region 2- 31,638
• Region 3- 83,621
• Calabarzon- 162,500
• Mimaropa- 30,340
• Region 5- 35,339
• Region 6- 59,280
• Region 7- 11,685
• Region 8- 6,448
• Region 9- 9,869
• Region 10- 8,760
• Region 11- 8,793
• Region 12- 21,685
• Caraga- 6,869
• NCR- 68,165
• CAR- 5,040
• BARMM- 238
The DILG secretary added that the subsidy will be distributed in three batches.
The first batch is for 539,395 tricycle drivers who were able to provide an e-wallet account, the second batch is for the 73,233 drivers who will avail of over-the-counter (OTC) transactions at the LBP, while the third batch comprises 5,178 drivers who will avail of on-site payout at LGUs.
“Lahat ng nasa masterlist ng qualified tricycle drivers ay makakatanggap ng fuel subsidy. Hintayin na lang po natin ang abiso ng LTFRB para sa mga detalye at karagdagang impormasyon,” he said.
(Every qualified tricycle driver on the master list will receive a fuel subsidy. Just wait for the notice from the LTFRB for the details and additional information.)
The DILG issued a memorandum that tasked LGUs “to produce and submit a validated list of tricycle drivers; tricycle franchisees; addresses; electronic wallet accounts; and a number of operating tricycles and other details within their respective jurisdictions.”
Initially, Año said that 766,590 tricycle drivers submitted their names to be included in the master list; however, after validation, 148,784 drivers were disqualified due to “lack of driver’s license numbers, incomplete e-wallet information, or names submitted after the deadline.”
“Nagkaroon ng validation at verification para siguraduhin na ang makatatanggap ng fuel subsidy ay ang mga lehitimong namamasada na may prangkisa at hindi colorum, may lisensya, at nakapag-submit ng mga requirements sa deadline na ibinigay ng pamahalaan,” he said.
(There was validation and verification done to ensure that those who will receive the fuel subsidy are legitimate tricycle drivers who have a franchise that is not illegal, driver’s license, and submitted the requirements before the deadline set by the government.) – Xander Dave Ceballos, INQUIRER.net intern
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