The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Tuesday welcomed the results of the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey that showed the DSWD’s cash relief assistance for public transport sectors helped them continue plying their routes and maintain their primary source of income.
Commissioned by the Social Protection, Inclusion and Gender Equality (SPRING) Program of the Australian government, the SWS survey was conducted on May 26 to 27 with a nationally representative sample of 1,200 registered beneficiaries of the DSWD’s cash relief assistance.
The SWS survey reported that 96.3 percent of public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers expressed high satisfaction with the PHP5,000 cash aid which “helped them remain in or return to active transport operations.”
Respondents likewise expressed a high level of overall satisfaction with the cash relief assistance, with 87.2 percent saying they were satisfied or very satisfied with the support they received.
“Ang mga ganitong klaseng pag-aaral po ay makakatulong sa DSWD para mas mapabuti pa natin ang pagbibigay ng tulong sa mga kababayan nating PUV drivers na hanggang ngayon ay ramdam pa rin ang epekto ng pagtaas ng presyo ng gasolina o krudo (This kind of study is helping the DSWD improve its aid delivery to PUV drivers, who, until now, continue to feel the effect of rising fuel costs),” DSWD spokesperson Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao said in a statement Monday afternoon.
Of the 96.3 percent, 66.8 percent of respondents reported that the cash aid has “helped greatly,” while 29.5 percent answered that it “helped somewhat.”
The “helped greatly” rating was highest in Mindanao with 79.6 percent, followed by a 76.3 percent rating in the Visayas, and 72.6 percent in Balance Luzon.
The survey also showed that beneficiaries primarily used the cash assistance for essential household and transport-related expenses.
Food for the household was the most frequently cited use for the cash grant, followed by fuel purchases, indicating that the assistance helped PUV drivers meet their families’ immediate needs while continuing their operations.
Dumlao said the DSWD will take into consideration the results of the survey and relay the findings to other government agencies as inputs in the ongoing assessment of possible interventions for affected PUV drivers.
“Gaya po ng laging sinasabi ng aming Kalihim, Secretary Rex Gatchalian, inisyal pa lamang ito. Pinag-aaralan po ng ating gobyerno, alinsunod sa utos ni Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. ang susunod na hakbang para patuloy nating masuportahan ang mga apektadong drayber (Like what Secreatry Gatchalian keeps saying, this is just the initial step. In line with the directives of President Marcos, the government is studying the next steps to continuously support affected drivers),” she said.
She said other government agencies are also working together to providing other forms of necessary assistance to the transport sector, such as the fuel subsidy of the Department of Transportation.
As of June 19, more than 1.8 million beneficiaries across various sectors of the public transportation industry have received PHP5,000 cash aid from the DSWD, with a total disbursement of PHP9.11 billion. (PNA)
