DOTR Chief blames TNCs, gov’t execs for bloated list of fuel subsidy beneficiaries
Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez has blamed transport network companies (TNC) and unidentified officials of two government agencies for the bloated list of beneficiaries used in the payout of a P5,000 fuel subsidy for public utility vehicles amid the energy crisis.
Lopez said that officials of TNCs and the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) will be held accountable for the bloated lists they submitted to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
He told the ad-hoc Senate committee for proactive response and oversight for timely and effective crisis strategy (Protect) during a hearing on Wednesday that the number of transport network vehicle services (TNVS) drivers who availed of the one-time DSWD cash assistance far exceeded the 78,000 cap authorized by the government.
“TNCs should definitely be held accountable here,” Lopez told senators. “And not only that, I will extend it further. Accountability shouldn’t just lie with the TNCs. The LTFRB or DOTr should also be held accountable, whether it’s present or former officials, because they let this happen.”
Overwhelmed
During the Senate hearing, Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian said they were overwhelmed by the sheer number of TNVS drivers who trooped to payout centers.
“The TNCs were the ones who chose and screened [the beneficiaries] at first. They only submitted 20,000 to 30,000. But now, for TNVS four-wheels, about 185,000 have already been processed. For motorcycle taxis, it’s 293,000,” Gatchalian said.
“They (TNCs) were onboarding more than what they are authorized. They just kept adding and adding and that’s what caused the problem,” he added.
Many of these drivers were tagged as “tempo drivers” or those operating under ride-hailing applications with temporary, often fraudulent provisional authority documents, he said.
However, President Marcos himself ordered government agencies concerned to extend relief assistance even to “tempo” TNVS drivers who are also affected by the Middle East oil crisis.
Gatchalian’s brother, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, who chairs the Senate Protect committee, stressed that they need the correct number of beneficiaries to ensure the appropriation of the right budget for additional financial assistance.
“It affects budgeting, Because we don’t know how much to allocate. If you say that the list is a ‘moving list,’ it’s going to be a problem when it comes to budgeting. We’re not talking about P100 million to P200 million here. We’re talking about billions that will be taken from other sources,” the senator said.
Ride hailing service provider Grab Philippines, on the other hand, assured senators that the company will rectify its lapses concerning “tempo” drivers.
“We take accountability for the initial list that we gave. We know that it created a lot of confusion on the ground and we apologize to our government agencies, DOTr and especially DSWD,” Grab spokesperson Sherielysse Bonifacio said.
