DSWD: Over 642K transport workers receive P5,000 aid

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) reported that a total of 642,255 individuals from the public transportation sector have already received cash relief assistance as of 16 April throughout the country.

A month after the start of its distribution of the P5,000 aid, the DSWD said that there have been 319,678 beneficiaries from different sectors in the National Capital Region while 322,577 tricycle drivers were provided relief through the department’s regional offices.

These payouts were also said to have cost P3.2 billion from the program's allocated budget of P30 billion.

Edwin Morata, Director of the DSWD’s Crisis Intervention Program (CIP), explained that the assistance rollout was still ongoing and that they were ensuring that every driver was covered through special payout initiatives.

Asked what went wrong leading to some individuals having to repeatedly venture to sites just to receive their subsidy, Morata explained that they were trying to avoid duplicate payout sites.

“Kasi ang iniiwisan po namin ay duplicated payout, because there is a possibility because of the adjacent payout sites that one client na umappear yung pangalan niya sa isang listahan at nakita niyang nag-appear ulit ang pangalan niya sa isang listahan may jump from one site to another,” he explained.

(What we’re trying to avoid is duplicated payout, because there is a possibility because of the adjacent payout sites that one client’s name may appear on different lists may jump from one site to another)

Morata expressed that since it was a government fund, they were certifying that the assistance would be given to the intended beneficiary.

The program director also stated that they were already correcting the information of beneficiaries at the payout sites themselves, however, validation was still needed through their systems.