Transport ayuda tied to votes?

A transport leader on Thursday questioned why drivers were being asked to disclose their voting precincts to receive government aid, citing gaps and delays in payouts, during a Senate hearing.

At the Senate PROTECT committee hearing, Manibela Transport Group president Mar Valbuena said many drivers were left out despite submitting the required documents.

Valbuena lamented that their group complied with the requirements, submitting a master list as requested by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), but faced additional requirements during distribution.

“We were asked by the LTFRB to submit a list. We submitted our master list. It turned out it would also be given to the LGU,” he said in Filipino.

He said the drivers were required to submit multiple documents and information.

“We needed to provide our OR/CR, take photos with our jeepneys, hold up our driver’s licenses along with our franchise. We also had to indicate which precinct we vote in,” he said.

“Mr. Chair, that is true, and we have evidence,” he added.

Fleet card pushed

Valbuena also emphasized that only a fraction of the drivers actually received the aid.

“They themselves said only twenty-one percent received it… among our members, only eight percent got it,” he said, adding that on some routes, none of those listed received any assistance.

The transport leader also said drivers lost income while lining up for payouts.

“We lined up the whole day… if we could have earned one thousand five hundred pesos today… that was also lost,” he said.

Valbuena reiterated his group’s proposal for a fleet card system to streamline the fuel subsidy and avoid long queues that disrupt their operations.

During the hearing, Senator Bam Aquino raised concerns over incomplete beneficiary lists, recalling complaints from transport groups about being excluded from past assistance programs.

Daily losses

Valbuena then questioned the burden placed on drivers and the lack of clarity on aid sources.

“Where the funds will come from should not be something we are asked… you are the ones who know because you are the ones giving it,” he said.

Department of Social Welfare and Development officials said their agency provides cash assistance directly to validated beneficiaries and disputed claims of low payout rates, noting that distribution depended on verified lists.

The hearing was held as transport workers face rising fuel costs, with Valbuena saying the drivers are bearing daily losses while awaiting government support.