ILOILO City – The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has accelerated its emergency cash aid rollout for transport workers in Western Visayas, releasing P5,000 each to 8,450 tricycle drivers, with a region-wide payout scheduled on April 16 to cover all municipalities.
The initial distribution on April 8 covered major urban centers to cushion the impact of rising fuel costs and economic strain on the transport sector.
Of the total beneficiaries, 1,983 came from Iloilo City, 2,600 from Passi City, and 3,867 from Roxas City, with payouts conducted at five designated sites including the Roxas City Civic Center, Barangay MH Del Pilar Gym in Jaro, Iloilo City, City of Passi Arena, and Barangay Zamora-Melliza in Iloilo City Proper.
DSWD Region 6 director Joselito Estember led the pilot rollout and confirmed that the next phase will expand coverage across the region.
Estember explained that beneficiary lists are sourced from local government units (LGUs), covering tricycle drivers with valid franchises and driver’s licenses, and are subjected to DSWD validation to eliminate duplicate entries.
Following the tricycle sector, the DSWD Central Office has ordered the inclusion of other public transport drivers in the next rollout phase.
In preparation, DSWD-6 has already coordinated with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) Region VI for the list of public utility jeepney (PUJ), taxi, and transport network vehicle service (TNVS) drivers.
While no confirmation has been made on additional rounds of financial assistance, Estember assured that contingency measures are in place should economic conditions worsen.
The P5,000 assistance is released under the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) program, separate from the fuel subsidies being provided by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the LTFRB./PN
