The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said that it plans to complete the distribution of its P5,000 cash assistance to members of the public transportation sector nationwide by the end of April.

During his appearance before the House Joint Committee on Legislative Energy and Development, Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian asserted that they plan to finish at least the first round of its cash assistance as soon as possible.

Gatchalian noted that the initial rollout was conducted in a face-to-face manner to ensure that the funding was distributed to the actual beneficiaries, but that the DSWD is exploring the possibility of a second distribution through e-wallets.

“Now that we’ve done the first step at na-validate na namin at na-verify na namin ang mga beneficiaries, now in the succeeding steps, yung mga sektor, katulad ng transport network vehicle service (TNVS), motorcycle (MC) taxi, delivery service, ‘yan yung mga mayroon na silang e-wallets,” he said.

(Now that we’ve done the first step to validate and verify the beneficiaries, now in the succeeding steps, sectors such as transport network vehicle service (TNVS), motorcycle (MC) taxi, delivery service, since they have e-wallets)

“We’ve already tendered a request for quotations from all the players, and we should be able to partner with them in time for the next round of assistance,” he added.

The DSWD chief affirmed, however, that they will still be open to catering to individuals without e-wallets when the time comes.

In a related development, Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao announced that the special payout for tricycle drivers who were not able to claim their assistance or were excluded from the lists had already begun this Tuesday.

Dumlao said that sectors such as jeepney drivers, TNVS drivers, MC taxi drivers, and delivery service riders were scheduled on subsequent days.

She said that the department has already coordinated with related agencies such as the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, Transport Network Companies (TNCs), and other transport organizations to ensure that drivers will not face further issues in receiving their aid.

“What we did is to strengthen our coordination with these organizations so that ‘yung mga drivers po ay maabisuhan kung saan magtutungo, kung anong araw, at anong oras sila pupunta doon sa mga payout sites,” she said.