300 stranded drivers, conductors await P5,000 cash aid from DOLE

About 300 stranded bus drivers and conductors remain waiting for the P5,000 financial assistance promised by the government to help them cope with the enhanced community quarantine that halted jobs to contain the spread of COVID-19.

In Mark Salazar’s Thursday report on “24 Oras,” the drivers and conductors appealed to the government to release the cash aid because they have been jobless since the beginning of the lockdown.

“Ilang araw na, hanggang ngayon, wala pa ring balita. Sabi ipapasa, isang linggo na wala pang nangyayari. Kailan pa ba ‘yon? ‘Yong patay na kami sa gutom,” one of the drivers said.

“Wala na talaga eh. Dati nakakapag-almusal pa ngayon kape at kaunting kanin na lang,” another driver said.

Some of the drivers are not residents of Metro Manila and are not receiving any relief from their barangays.

“Tiga Abra ako, ‘di nabibigyan dahil hindi ako botante dito,” a conductor said.

“Pumunta na kami ng barangay pero hanggang ngayon, wala pa ring aksyon eh. Puro pangako,” another driver lamented.

According to Defend Job Philippines, a non-profit and non-stock organization, only 28 respondents have reported that they already received the P5,000 cash assistance from the Department of Labor and Employment.

The Quezon City government has clarified they already distributed relief goods to the drivers and conductors of Admiral Bus Lines.

The city government added that the drivers and conductors are asking for the P5,000 cash aid from the government and not the relief efforts of the local government.

Last March 17, DOLE announced it is rolling out a P1.3-billion financial assistance for 250,000 Filipino workers who stand to temporarily lose their source of income due to the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine.

President Rodrigo Duterte, meanwhile, announced on Monday that the government has set aside P200 billion for low-income households affected by the community quarantines.

The Luzon-wide quarantine will last until April 13 as the government moves to curb the spread of COVID-19, which has so far claimed 107 lives and infected 2,633 people nationwide. —Ma. Angelica Garcia/LDF, GMA News