OVER 600,000 tricycle drivers all over the country are about to receive their fuel cash subsidy from the government to cushion the impact of the soaring prices of petroleum products, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said Wednesday, June 29, 2022.
DILG Secretary Eduardo Año said the fuel subsidy, which is under the “Pantawid Pasada Program for Tricycle Drivers,” will be disbursed by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) either straight to the drivers’ e-wallet or Landbank accounts, or off-site payout by the local government units (LGU).
“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,” said Año.
“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 added.
The DILG said there were a total of 617,806 beneficiaries, in which 67,536 are from Ilocos Region (Region 1); 31,638 from Cagayan Valley (Region 2); 83,621 in Central Luzon (Region 3); 162,500 in Calabarzon; 30,340 in Mimaropa; 35,339 in Bicol (Region 5); 59,280 in Western Visayas (Region 6); 11,685 in Central Visayas (Region 7); 6,448 in Eastern Visayas (Region 8); 9,869 in Zamboanga Peninsula (Region 9); 8,760 in Northern Mindanao (Region 10); 8,793 in Davao Region (Region 11); 21,685 in Soccsksargen (Region 12); 6,869 in Caraga; 68,165 in National Capital Region; 5,040 in Cordillera Administrative Region; and 238 in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
The first batch of the beneficiaries are some 539,395 tricycle drivers who provided their e-wallet account, next is the 73,233 who availed themselves of the over-the-counter payout through the Landbank, and last are the 5,178 who availed themselves of the on-site payout at their respective LGUs.
The DILG received 766,590 applicants for the inclusion to the tricycle driver master list but 148,784 drivers were disqualified after validation.
“Nagkaroon ng validation at verification para siguraduhin na ang makakatanggap 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,” said Año.
Earlier, the National Government released funds for the fuel subsidy of drivers and farms affected by the looming oil crisis. (SunStar Philippines)