The Department of Social Welfare and Development announced that it will begin the distribution of the P5,000 cash relief assistance for the provincial transport sector by the second week of April.

“We’ll start with our provincial rollout by the second week of April, because the first week is Holy Week, after Holy Week we will start distributing assistance outside of Metro Manila,” DSWD Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao said in an interview with DZRH this Sunday.

Dumlao asserted that the DSWD was aware of the struggle faced by drivers in provinces and that the department was actively coordinating with local government units and other concerned agencies through their respective field offices.

“Initially what we’re doing is we’re drafting the list so we can start planning where it will be conducted, how much is needed in terms of funding, and whatever details need to be figured out,” she said.

“Again, what we want to happen is that we conduct it as smoothly in the provinces as we did in the National Capital Region, of course much better, as much as possible without any hiccups,” she added.

The initiative under the DSWD’s Assistance to Individuals for Crisis Situation official began handing out the cash assistance last Tuesday, March 17, to a projected 139,000 tricycle drivers in LGUs within Metro Manila.

Dumlao reported that the program has already benefitted 98,000, with over 18,000 more drivers yet to receive their share of the subsidy due to a variety of reasons.

She said that the DSWD took note of the drivers that were part of their Tricycle Operators and Drivers’ Association (TODA) groups but were not part of the list of beneficiaries for a special payout that would be conducted in the upcoming week.

Asked if she thought that AICS funding would be able to suffice for the upcoming distributions and a potential second payout in case the crisis persists, Dumlao maintained that it would be enough.

Department Secretary Rex Gatchalian mentioned in a conference with other government agencies last 15 March that AICS had allocated P30 billion out of its P60 billion of funding for the cash assistance program.