DSWD: 256k PUV drivers in Metro Manila received P1.28B cash aid

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Monday said it has distributed P1.28 billion in cash aid to more than 256,000 public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers in Metro Manila.

In a Facebook post, the DSWD said each of the 256,040 PUV drivers in the National Capital Region have already received P5,000 in cash relief assistance to help them cope with recent oil price hikes.

Among the recipients were drivers of public jeepneys, tricycles, delivery riders, motorcycle taxi drivers, and transport network vehicle service (TNVS) drivers.

The DSWD began the payouts to different segments of the transport sector on March 17 and said it is eyeing to distribute cash relief assistance to public transport drivers outside of Metro Manila after the Holy Week.

The DSWD’s distribution of cash relief assistance is in coordination with the Department of Transportation (DOTr), Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), and local government units (LGUs).

The breakdown of drivers in Metro Manila who received the cash relief assistance is as follows:

• 102,824 tricycle drivers
• 22,937 TNVS drivers
• 22,031 jeepney drivers
• 86,268 service delivery riders, and
• 21,980 motorcycle taxi riders.

The DSWD assured that qualified drivers who are not yet included in the DSWD’s list of beneficiaries will have a special payout schedule for their cash aid.

On Monday, the LTFRB also announced that P651 million in cash assistance has been distributed so far to PUV drivers and operators as part of part of the government’s fuel subsidy program amid rising pump prices due to the Middle East conflict.

Of the P651,185,000 cash assistance distributed since March 17, Metro Manila received the biggest chunk at P181.278 million, followed by Calabarzon at P98.215 million, and Central Luzon with P73.416 million. — JMA, GMA News