By Brian Jules Campued
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is ready to extend assistance to displaced jeepney drivers following the deadline of the consolidation for Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) on April 30, an agency official said over the weekend.
“Ang DSWD ay nakahanda na magbigay ng tulong doon sa ating mga kababayan na maaapektuhan. Sa ngayon ay wala pa tayong natatanggap na impormasyon, but of course, kung mayroong lumapit at humingi ng request ito naman ay agarang tutugunan ng DSWD,” Assistant Secretary for Disaster Response Management Group Irene Dumlao said in a news release on Saturday.
However, jeepney drivers will be assessed first before they are given the necessary aid.
“Subject to the assessment of our social workers para matiyak natin kung ano ba iyong kaukulang tulong or interventions na nararapat na iparating sa kanila,” Dumlao said.
The interventions to be granted by the DSWD include food or cash assistance under the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) and livelihood programs under the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP).
Jeepney drivers seeking for assistance must be eligible under the SLP, included in the LISTAHANAN database of poor families, or those who are members of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), she added.
The PUVMP, which aims to replace old PUVs with modern units, requires operators and drivers to consolidate their franchises under cooperatives or corporations to purchase new transport vehicles.
Meanwhile, Sen. Grace Poe sought the plan of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to help affected drivers through Entrepreneur and Tsuper Iskolar programs and also urged the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to set up help desks nationwide.
“Dapat magtayo ng mga help desks ang LTFRB sa mga lugar na maaabot nila para doon pwedeng mag-sign up ang ating mga tsuper kung anong pwedeng tulong mula sa gobyerno,” Poe said in a press release.
“Kasi sa ngayon, parang merong disconnect o hindi pagkakaintindihan dahil nga hindi malinaw ang programa,” she added.
The senator, likewise, asked the DOTr to submit a comprehensive data regarding the status of the PUVMP and its components, updated statistics on consolidation, and the number of routes being serviced by modern units as well as contingency plans to address affected routes. – avds
