• CHERYL G. CRUZ
More than 2,500 transport network vehicle service (TNVS) and delivery drivers from Bacolod City and Negros Occidental each receive P5,000 in fuel aid in the two-day payout that started May 28 at SM Bacolod.
Mayor Greg Gasataya said that 785 drivers from Bacolod and the cities of Talisay and Silay were scheduled to receive the cash relief assistance (CRA) from the Department of Social Welfare and Development-Negros Island Region (DSWD-NIR) in the payout yesterday morning.
Another 725 TNVS and service delivery drivers from Bago, La Carlota, Victorias, Don Salvador Benedicto, E.B. Magalona, Murcia, Pontevedra, Pulupandan, San Enrique, and Valladolid were to receive their CRA yesterday afternoon.
Gasataya said that today, May 29, a total of 1,000 drivers from Bacolod, affected by the continuous increase in fuel prices and operational expenses, will get the cash assistance.
He added that the list of beneficiaries came from the DSWD Central Office.
The list of beneficiaries was endorsed by the respective TNVS and delivery companies to the DSWD Central Office through the coordination of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).
The submitted lists underwent verification and validation processes prior to the release of assistance, the DSWD-NIR said May 28.
“The payout implementation is being conducted in close coordination with local government units and partner-agencies to ensure the orderly, transparent, and efficient distribution of assistance to qualified beneficiaries,” it added.
The CRA forms part of the government’s continuing efforts to support vulnerable transport and delivery workers, who continue to provide essential mobility and delivery services to the public despite economic challenges, the DSWD stressed. | CGC
