KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews / 8 April) — A total of 23,649 tricycle drivers in Region 12 and the Bangsamoro region have been identified as recipients of cash relief assistance (CRA) worth ₱5,000 each to help ease their burden due to the severe impact brought by the skyrocketing prices of fuel products.

Based on data from the Department of Social Welfare and Development – Region 12 (DSWD-12), the national government allocated at least ₱118,245,000 for the first batch of beneficiaries in the region.

Loreto Cabaya Jr., DSWD-12 regional director, said that social welfare workers started the payouts on Wednesday for tricycle drivers operating in the cities of the region. 

“The CRA is part of the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) of the DSWD,” he told MindaNews in a phone interview.

Cabaya said the cash distribution was generally peaceful and orderly across the region.

He said some 300 tricycle drivers encountered problems with their personal information, such as wrong spelling of their names, but these were addressed on the spot and each was able to get the ₱5,000 aid.

Dennis Domingo, DSWD-12 information officer, said the list of beneficiaries were validated by the local government units (LGUs) and submitted to the DSWD regional office, which distributed the cash assistance.

“We made sure that there is no duplication of beneficiaries through our deduplication process,” he said.

DSWD-12 data showed that 11,261 tricycle drivers have been listed to receive the cash aid in General Santos City, 4,955 in Koronadal City, 3,715 in Kidapawan City, and 3,091 in Tacurong City in Region 12 or Soccsksargen, and 627 in Cotabato City in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

The payouts for the cities of Tacurong, Kidapawan and Cotabato are slated to be finished Wednesday, Domingo said.

For Gensan and Koronadal, 1,066 and 2,007 tricycle drivers, respectively, are scheduled to get the CRA Wednesday, with Domingo saying the remainder will get the cash aid in succeeding days until everybody is served.

Juan dela Costa Jr., 60, was thankful for the ₱5,000 assistance from the government, which he said he will use to fill his tricycle’s tank and buy food for the family.

He noted that the high prices of gasoline, ranging from ₱94 to ₱106 per liter in this city, severely affected the livelihood of tricycle drivers. Dela Costa is a tricycle driver here in the last 35 years and this is the first time that gasoline prices, he said, have gone up “insanely.”

Based on the guidelines issued by the DSWD, those with expired drivers’ licenses and colorum operators, or those without franchise or permit, will not qualify for the cash aid.

Cabaya said that tricycle drivers operating in municipalities across the region will also receive ₱5,000 each, adding they are still waiting for the list from the LGUs.

He said that van drivers in the region would also get the ₱5,000 assistance, after the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board submits the list. (Bong S. Sarmiento / MindaNews)