A total of 617,806 qualified recipients will receive fuel cash subsidies under the “Pantawid Pasada Program for Tricycle Drivers” to ease their financial woes amid the rising cost of petroleum products since late last year, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said on Tuesday, June 28.

DILG Secretary Eduardo M. Año explained that the fuel subsidy will be disbursed by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) through the beneficiaries’ e-wallet accounts, branches of the Landbank of the Philippines 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 (We expect to somehow ease the financial burden of the tricycle drivers through the fuel subsidy due to the series of rising cost of fuel and their decrease transport incomes due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This is the administration’s way of showing its concern to the tricycle drivers),’’ Año said.

Of the total number of tricycle drivers-beneficiaries, Año said 67,536 are from Region 1; 31,638 from Region 2; 83,621 in Region 3; 162,500 in Calabarzon; 30,340 in MIMAROPA; 35,339 in Region 5; 59,280 in Region 6; 11,685 in Region 7; 6,448 in Region 8; 9,869 in Region 9; 8,760 in Region 10; 8,793 in Region 11; 21,685 in Region 12; 6,869 in Caraga; 68,165 in NCR; 5,040 in CAR; and 238 in BARMM.

Año said the first batch is for the 539,395 trike drivers who were able to provide an e-wallet account; the second batch is for the 73, 233 drivers who will avail of the over-the-counter (OTC) transactions at the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) branch nearest them; the third batch is for the 5,178 drivers who will avail of on-site payout at the 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 (All the qualified tricycle drivers in the masterlist will receive the fuel subsidy. Let us just wait for the announcement of the LTFRB for the details and additional information),’’ he added.

The DILG issued Memorandum Circular 2022-047 tasking LGUs to produce and submit to the DILG a validated list of tricycle drivers; tricycle franchisees; addresses; electronic wallet accounts; and number of operating tricycles and other details within their respective jurisdictions.

The list must be certified correct by the Head of the Tricycle Franchising Board and the head of the local Tricycle Operators and Drivers Association (TODA) as well as the concerned city or municipal mayors and vice-mayors.

Año said some 766,590 trike drivers had their names submitted for inclusion in the master list but upon validation 148,784 trike drivers nationwide were disqualified due to lack of means of verification (MOVs), such as driver’s license numbers, incomplete e-wallet information, or names submitted after the deadline.

The DILG chief also urged the city and municipal mayors to set-up a ‘Pantawid Pasada Assistance and Complaint Desk or Hotline’ to address concerns and complaints from the beneficiaries on the list and other similar concerns in the fuel subsidy program. (Chito A. Chavez)

Source:
courtesy of MANILA BULLETIN

by Chito Chavez

If you have any stories or news that you would like to share with the global online community, please feel free to share it with us by contacting us directly at [email protected]