MANILA – Some 16,233 delivery riders from four last-mile delivery service (LMDS) platforms are qualified for the fuel subsidy provided by the government to ease the impact of soaring oil prices.
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) chief of staff and Undersecretary Ireneo Vizmonte said the agency has submitted the list of accredited delivery riders qualified for fuel subsidy to the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).
“Ito ay ginagawa natin in coordination with platforms, iyong mga last-mile delivery service provider. Sa kanila po natin kinukuha yung mga pangalan, sino po ba iyong mga accredited independent riders (We are doing this in coordination with platforms, those last-mile delivery service provider. We get the names from them and verify those accredited independent riders),” Vizmonte said in a radio interview Friday.
The DTI obtained the list of independent riders from LMDS providers, and the department reviewed the list to ensure there is no name duplication from the four LMDS platforms.
Vizmonte said independent riders are those with no employer-employee relation with the LMDS companies.
“Sa delivery riders ay pinag-iisapan ay through e-wallet dahil meron na sila noon to receive their subsidy, ‘di na kailangan ng bagong card (For delivery riders, they are looking into providing it through e-wallet because they have already that to receive their subsidy. So new cards are no longer needed),” he added.
Public utility vehicle drivers are getting PHP6,500 credited to their Pantawid Pasada cards.
The LTFRB earlier said delivery riders may be getting subsidies lower than PHP6,500.
The government has allocated PHP2.5 billion for fuel subsidies this year once global oil prices hit an average of USD80 per barrel for three straight months.
The global oil market has been trading at over USD100 per barrel.
With the skyrocketing oil prices, the government proposed to double the fuel subsidy for the transport sector, as well as the agriculture and fisheries sectors. (PNA)
