Ride-hailing drivers next to get P5,000 aid

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) 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.

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

Dumlao also noted that drivers from other transportation sectors, such as jeepney drivers, delivery riders and motorcycle taxi riders, will receive their subsidies in the following days.

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

The department said 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 20 March.

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