Some 2,769 public transport drivers in Eastern Visayas will receive the emergency cash subsidy under the social amelioration program (SAP) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

In a statement on Tuesday, DSWD Eastern Visayas director Marie Angela Gopalan said recipients of the PHP5,000-cash assistance are those who did not receive the grant during the first tranche.

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board has provided the list, which has undergone validation to ensure the eligibility of the beneficiaries before submission to the DSWD central office.

A total of 2,097 drivers were listed in Leyte, 235 in Western Samar, 165 in Eastern Samar, 151 in Northern Samar, 113 in Southern Leyte, and eight in Biliran.

To date, the DSWD has already released a total of PHP985,000 to 197 beneficiaries from the six provinces, Gopalan said.

“The cash assistance is meant to ease the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) that has affected their livelihood due to movement restrictions,” she said.

The regional office is implementing the digital payout in remittance centers to facilitate the distribution.

In the region, the national government released a total of PHP2.75 billion during the first tranche of SAP to 550,480 families from 143 towns and cities.

Distribution of the cash assistance to over 81,000 waitlisted family beneficiaries in the region who did not receive the grant in the first tranche is also ongoing, the DSWD said.

Meanwhile, Eastern Visayas has confirmed a total of 4,591 Covid-19 cases since March, including 3,875 recoveries and 41 deaths, according to the Department of Health monitoring report. (PNA)