Social pension programs for PUJ drivers, operators

Photo by Macky Lim
Photo by Macky Lim

DAVAO City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio urged public utility jeepney (PUJ) drivers and operators who will be affected by the city's modern bus system to avail themselves of social pensions the local government has prepared.

Duterte-Carpio earlier said she secured P650-million social pension budget from the 17th Congress and it will serve as compensation to PUJ drivers and operators who will be affected with the implementation of the High Priority Bus System (HPBS).

This is on top of the P100 million allocated by the 19th City Council in 2019 under the Supplemental Budget 1.

The mayor said various social development programs from Department of Labor and Employment (Dole), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda), and Commission on Higher Education (Ched), among others, will be made available for them.

She said these would include scholarships, cash-for-work programs, trainings and other livelihood projects.

Duterte-Carpio said Ched allotted P300 million, wherein a family member of the affected PUV drivers and operators will have a four-year college scholarship.

"Bisan nagsugod na og skwela ang bata, pwede gihapon sila maka-avail sa educational assistance (Even through their children had already started college, they can still avail of the educational assistance)," the mayor said on Thursday, January 9.

The DTI, meanwhile, had allotted P95 million for affected drivers and operators.

She said this will consist of more than 10,000 livelihood kits.

The mayor, however, said that by March, all affected PUV drivers and operators under the master list of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, and the City Transport and Traffic Management Office should enlist themselves and their beneficiaries.

Duterte-Carpio said the city already scheduled an orientation for these drivers, wherein guidelines on how to avail the social pension will be discussed.

Orientation will be held on January 14 in Toril, January 21 in Calinan, January 24 in Bunawan, and January 30 in Poblacion.

"Any of these areas nga schedule, pwede muadto ang driver and operator para maminaw sa lecture on how to access this portion of the social package (Drivers and operators may attend any of these orientation schedules so they would know how to avail this portion of the social package)," Duterte-Carpio said.

The mayor, in her State of the City Address (Soca) in 2019, said more than 7,000 PUJs will be replaced with more or less 1,000 buses in the HPBS implementation.

Duterte-Carpio said the first phase of the implementation is expected to start within the first half of 2020.

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