• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
A total of 1,223 tricycle drivers in E.B. Magalona, Negros Occidental received financial assistance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development on Thursday, April 16 while the consolidated jeepney drivers in Bacolod City are expected to receive P1,000 worth of fuel cards from Deputy Speaker Alfredo Abelardo Benitez.
In E.B. Magalona, Mayor Matthew Louis Malacon and Negros Occidental Third District Rep. Javier Miguel Benitez announced that each tricycle driver gets P5,000.
Meanwhile, Deputy Speaker Benitez, who led the launching of the fuel card program at his congressional office in Bacolod City, said he will use his six months worth of salary as congressman to provide fuel subsidy to identified public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers to cushion the impact of rising fuel prices.
A total of 1,780 Bacolod PUV drivers will benefit from the fuel subsidy program.
While the national government also extends assistance to PUV drivers, the Bacolod lawmaker said it takes a longer time to process.
“Our drivers continue to serve the community every day despite the challenges they face. Through this initiative, we aim to provide practical support that can help sustain their livelihood and daily operations,” the Deputy Speaker said.
His lawmaker son said during the fuel subsidy distribution in E. B. Magalona that the government will also extend assistance to fisherfolk in the Third District.
This was after the Department of Agriculture started to distribute assistance to 5,000 farmer-beneficiaries in E.B. Magalona, Manapla, Murcia and Don Salvador Benedicto as well as the cities of Cadiz, Talisay, Silay and Victorias in the amount of P13 million.
Malacon said the municipal government also distributed fertilizers to farmers in Barangay 2 Poblacion.
As part of their austerity measures, in line with the celebration of Ugyonan Festival on May 1, Malacon said they will shorten the celebration to three days, and will do away with the street dancing and Lin-ay sang E.B. Magalona beauty pageant.
By doing so, the neophyte mayor said they are able to save as much as P3 million compared to the previous year’s budget. | GB
