Nearly 3,000 Tagbilaran City tricycle drivers

receive P5,000 cash relief amid fuel price surge

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol (PIA)--For 71-year old tricycle driver Sergio Apayor, the P5,000 cash assistance from the government arrived at the right time.

“Daku ko og pasalamat ani nga hinabang tungod kay magamit ni nako og pagpa-renew sa mayor’s permit sa akong tricycle unit (I am very grateful for this assistance because I can use it to renew the mayor's permit for my tricycle unit),” Apayor said.

Apayor is one of 2,959 registered tricycle drivers in Tagbilaran City who received one-time cash relief assistance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to offset rising fuel costs linked to the ongoing Middle East conflict.

The payout is part of a national relief effort backed by P30 billion that the DSWD earmarked from its P60 billion Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS), a program scale that puts each driver’s P5,000 inside a government response designed to reach the transport sector nationwide.

The Tagbilaran City distribution was held at three venues – Tagbilaran City Central Elementary School, Ubujan Elementary School, and San Isidro National High School – with two schedules running from 6 a.m. to noon, and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

To manage the crowd, the city government implemented a digital queuing system to reduce long lines and speed up the process.

Beneficiaries were drawn from drivers registered under the Business Permits and Licensing Office (BPLO).

The relief is part of the government’s response to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s Executive Order No. 110, signed March 24, declaring a state of national energy emergency. DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian issued a memorandum circular directing the agency to expedite assistance to transport workers and other vulnerable sectors affected by the fuel price surge.

For Arnold Baloncio, 40, who drives a tricycle in Tagbilaran City after relocating from Dagohoy town, the assistance addresses a gap that has widened since fuel prices began climbing.

“Daku ko kaayo og pasalamat sa gobyerno ani nga ayuda. Makapalit nako ani og bugas para sa akong pamilya (I am very grateful to the government for this assistance. I can use it to buy rice for my family),” Baloncio said.

Tagbilaran City Mayor Jane Yap said that the distribution is a concrete measure to support drivers who continue to provide essential transport services despite economic challenges.

“Our drivers are the backbone of our daily commute,” Yap said.

Should the Middle East crisis persist, drivers like Apayor and Baloncio may not have long to wait for additional support. Gatchalian has said a second round of assistance is possible if conditions continue to strain the transport sector. (ECB/PIA7-Bohol)

Social Welfare and Development (SWAD) Team Leader of DSWD-7 in Bohol Lairisa Ballasa, hands over the P5,000 cash relief assistance (CRA) to a tricycle driver beneficiary at Tagbilaran City Central Elementary School on April 8, 2026. The assistance is intended to help cushion the impact of rising oil prices on transport workers, driven by the ongoing crisis in the Middle East. (ECB/PIA7-Bohol)