TRICYCLE drivers will be included in another round of fuel subsidy under the Pantawid Pasada Program led by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), and mayors have now been ordered to submit the drivers’ names by early next week or risk facing disciplinary action.The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Friday, April 22, directed city and municipal mayors nationwide to submit to their DILG regional offices by Tuesday, April 26, 2022, a validated list of qualified tricycle drivers for inclusion in the program.In a statement, DILG Secretary Eduardo Año said the list would expedite the process of helping tricycle drivers whose meager income had been “further cut by the recent oil price hikes.”He said the list, once validated, would be the basis for the granting of the fuel subsidy by the DOTr-LTFRB.Oil firms have raised prices 13 times this year. It has lowered prices only three times this year.The year-to-date adjustments have resulted in a net increase of P15.45/liter for gasoline, P27.35 per liter for diesel and P21.55 per liter for kerosene, the Department of Energy said.Under the Fuel Subsidy Program or Pantawid Pasada Program which will be funded through Republic Act 11639 or the General Appropriations Act of 2022, fuel aid of P6,500 will be directly provided to affected jeepney drivers as well as to qualified drivers of UV express, mini buses, buses, shuttle services, taxis, tricycles, and other full-time ride-hailing (e.g., transport network vehicle service or TNVS and motorcycle taxis) and delivery services nationwide.In DILG Memorandum Circular 2022-047 issued last April 19, Año said local government units (LGUs) must produce a validated list of tricycle drivers, tricycle franchisees, addresses, electronic wallet accounts, the number of operating tricycles and other details in their respective jurisdictions.The list should be prepared and certified correct by the head of the Tricycle Franchising Board and the head of the local Tricycle Operators and Drivers Association.It should then be further certified correct by the city or municipal mayor and vice mayor “to ensure that the list we will forward to the DOTr-LTFRB is correct and legitimate,” Año said.Within seven days of the circular’s issuance, LGUs must submit the validated list of beneficiaries to the DILG regional office to serve as a reference document in the distribution of the fuel subsidy to the tricycle drivers.DILG Secretary Año would then submit the consolidated validated list of eligible tricycle drivers to the DOTr-LTFRB, which would distribute the fuel subsidy through the e-wallet account submitted by the beneficiaries.The circular emphasizes that it is the duty of the mayors to ensure that the fuel subsidy is used for fuel purchases and payments only.Within the same seven days, mayors are also tasked to set up a Pantawid Pasada Assistance and Complaint Desk or Hotline to address concerns and complaints from beneficiary-tricycle drivers on the list and availment of the fuel subsidy.DILG Memorandum Circular 2022-047 cites the Russia-Ukraine conflict for the “unprecedented” oil price increases in the world market today.Russia is the world’s third-largest oil producer, and its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine beginning on February 24 has triggered sanctions from nations which have disrupted supply and sent prices skyrocketing. (CTL)