Metro Manila TNVS drivers next for P5K cash aid

The Department of Social Welfare and Development announced that drivers from Transport Network Vehicle Services (TNVS) in Metro Manila are next in line to receive the P5,000 cash assistance when it resumes its distribution efforts on Tuesday, 24 March.

Department spokesperson and Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao said that the continued rollout of the assistance is part of the welfare agency’s initiative to provide relief for drivers affected by the ongoing oil price hikes as a result of Middle East tensions.

Dumlao also noted that drivers of other transportation sectors, such as jeepney drivers, delivery riders, and motorcycle taxi riders, would be receiving their subsidies in the following days.

“After the payout for TNVS drivers, it will be followed by jeepney drivers on Wednesday [March 25], delivery riders on Thursday and Friday [March 26-27], and lastly with MC taxi riders on Saturday [March 28],” she said.

The department said that its projected beneficiaries are 34,000 TNVS drivers, 20,000 jeepney drivers, 83,000 delivery riders, and 34,000 motorcycle taxi riders within the National Capital Region, based on data as of March 20.

Rollout of the P5,000 cash assistance through the DSWD’s Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) program began last Tuesday, March 17, for over 90,000 tricycle drivers at 30 payout sites spread throughout various local government units in Metro Manila.

Dumlao said that the relief efforts were in accordance with the order of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to provide cash aid to all PUV drivers who experience the brunt of rising oil prices, such as diesel, which has recently eclipsed P100 per liter in some gasoline stations.

She also noted that the DSWD is actively coordinating with the Department of Transportation and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board in order to receive the list of beneficiaries for other regions.

“The DSWD is doing everything it can to swiftly provide help to PUV drivers that are struggling to operate because of high gas prices,” she explained.