A TOTAL of 9,298 project-affected people (PAPs) of the Davao Bus Project registered for the Social Development Program (SDP) as of Sept. 15.
Richard Villanueva, Department of Transportation (DOTr) Davao Bus SDP team Lead, told TIMES that of the total, 3,226 are operators while 6,072 are drivers.
The team recorded 7,712 qualified applications and 1,586 pending registrations due to a lack of documents.
“Ginalikayan nato ang dili tinoud nga driver ug dili tinoud nga operators, so naa tay mga documents nga gina pa produce sa ilaha (We asked them to produce documents to prove they are legitimate drivers or operators),” Villanueva said.
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) enlisted 5,921 franchise operators. Meanwhile, the City Transport and Traffic Management Office (CTTMO) registered 7,460 jeepney drivers.
“Mao na ang mga numbers na atong ginatan-aw currently, it can change next year posible madagdagan, posible mabawasan depende yan once they renew their franchise and license sa CTTMO (Those are the numbers we are looking at, which may increase or decrease once they renew their franchises and licenses),” Villanueva said.
“Yan yung franchise na atong gina recognize, mayroon man gud payout later on at baka magclaim na operator siya, so ang requirement gyud ana magproduce siya og prangkisa niya,” he added.
CSWDO Davao bus project focal person Riza Ibañez urged the qualified beneficiaries to register in SDP and avail of the financial and non-financial benefits from the city government.
“Duha ka hinabang sa non-financial assistance ug ang financial assistance nga dawaton gyud nila isip compensation kung pananglit mawad-an na sila og trabaho o dili na sila makapadagan sa ilang sakyanan or makapamasahero, mao na siya ang atoang ihatag sa ilaha (There are two forms of assistance that the PAPs will receive, both financial and non-financial, as compensation if they lose their livelihood or when they can no longer operate their PUJs),” Ibañez said.
Ibañez said the CSWDO will conduct training as part of employment facilitation and seminars for drivers or operators who prefer to start their own businesses. They will also be prioritized in personnel hiring as soon as the bus program implementation starts.
Villanueva said the project gained positive reactions from the drivers as it is deemed more beneficial for them than the boundary system.
“ aghan man mi nakaistorya, its good for them tan aw nila kay compared sa boundary system nga way klaro ang ilang kita kada adlaw, mag ilogay sa pasahero, sa bus nato secured na ilang income, sweldado na sila,” Villanueva said.
CSWDO will also provide educational assistance covering elementary and high school education and will be in partnership with the Educational Benefit System or EBSU for college assistance.
As for the financial aspect of SBP, PUJ drivers will receive a cash grant amounting to not less than P80,000 each, while the franchise operators will receive not less than P100,000 for each unit. The cash grant is set to be released by the end of year 2024 as soon as initial bus operations roll out.
The CSWDO referred to as PAPs are the qualified individuals for SDP including Public Utility Jeepney (PUJ) drivers, operators, and allied workers who are affected by the project formerly known as High Priority Bus System.
The PAPs are advised to proceed to the Davao Bus office at the People’s Park for registration and are required to bring their LTO registration, franchise (for operators), IDs issued by the CTTMO, plate number, route of the PUJ, deed of sale (if the unit was purchased recently), operator’s endorsement proving that they are driving the unit (for drivers).
