Senator Sherwin Gatchalian urged the DOTr and LTFRB to overhaul the list of public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers to speed up the distribution of financial aid and ensure that only legitimate beneficiaries receive assistance.
He also pushed the agencies to submit a concrete plan for a centralized, automated database of PUV drivers to reduce reliance on manual submissions by operators and improve identity verification.
Based on Senate data, the Fuel Subsidy Program covers about 1.43 million transport sector beneficiaries—1.18 million operators and 245,000 drivers.
However, as of April 8, 2026, only 200,982 have received aid out of 1,425,669 target beneficiaries, or a 14.1% accomplishment rate. Of this figure, 15.6% are operators and only 6.8% are drivers.
As of April 13, Gatchalian said only 45% of targeted beneficiaries have received financial assistance.
“Napakatagal. I find it so slow. You have to find a way to make sure that our drivers get the subsidy. Kung patay na ang kabayo, ano pa’ng gagawin natin sa fuel subsidy?” the senator said during a Senate PROTECT Committee hearing.IMT
