Thousands of tricycle drivers nationwide have yet to receive their financial aid. —GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Sherwin Gatchalian called out Friday local government units (LGUs) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) for the long delay in the distribution of fuel subsidy to tricycle drivers due to supposed inaccuracy in the submitted beneficiaries’ names.
Gatchalian, who chairs the Senate committee on energy, said that following a random check made by the Land Bank of the Philippines, it was found that several names of targeted beneficiaries submitted by the DILG and LGUs did not match with the names of e-wallet account holders.
Alerted by the discrepancy, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) rectified the list, said Gatchalian.
“Hanggang ngayon ay wala pang tricycle driver na nakakuha ng kanilang ayuda. Walang saysay ang pamamahagi ng ayuda kung matagal itong naaantala habang tuloy-tuloy na tumataas ang presyo ng krudo,” the senator said.
(Until now, tricycle drivers still haven’t received their financial aid. Distributing financial aid will not make sense if it is being long-delayed as the price of crude increases.)
“Malaking bagay ang programang Pantawid Pasada para sa kanila na, tulad din ng ibang PUV drivers, ay umaasa sa arawang pamamasada at apektado rin ng nagtataasang presyo ng mga pangunahing bilihin,” he further said.
(The Pantawid Pasada program is a big thing for them, just like other PUV riders who depend on daily trips and are affected by the increasing prices of basic commodities.)
As indicated in the DILG Memorandum Circular 2022-047, LGUs are directed to submit a validated list of tricycle drivers, tricycle franchisees, addresses, electronic wallet accounts, and many operating tricycles and other details within their respective jurisdictions.
These details must be prepared and correctly certified by the Tricycle Franchising Board heads and the local Tricycle Operators and Drivers Association (TODA), which must also be certified by the city or municipal mayors and vice mayors, the memorandum further stated.
Gatchalian said that Landbank is supposed to distribute the subsidies of non-cardholders like tricycle drivers through e-wallets, unlike eligible public utility driver-beneficiaries of Pantawid Pasada who received their subsidies through their existing cash cards.
To fix the situation, the LTFRB and Landbank will provide supplemental guidelines which will allow tricycle driver-beneficiaries with a valid driver’s license to receive their fuel subsidy “over the counter” in any Landbank branches nationwide, the senator said.
“Hopefully, the DILG and LGUs will be able to finalize this week the list to begin the process of distributing the fuel subsidy of P1,000 each to all 617,806 tricycle driver-beneficiaries all over the country,” Gatchalian said.
Gatchalian said that the distribution of the first trance of fuel subsidy to tricycle drivers was supposed to be in May but was delayed because the DILG submitted the final list of beneficiaries in the second week of June.
Initially, the DILG reported that 766,590 tricycle drivers submitted their names to the master list, but after a validation, 148,784 drivers were disqualified due to “lack of driver’s license numbers, incomplete e-wallet information, or names submitted after the deadline.” – Xander Dave Ceballos, INQUIRER.net intern
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