PUJ, trike drivers thanked Beng for aid, vaccines

HUNDREDS OF jeepney drivers and public transport groups thanked Mayor Beng Climaco for the cash assistance and COVID-19 vaccines they received from the local government.

A government photo shows an unnamed driver posing in front of a sign at the bus terminal. Hundreds of PUJ drivers thanked Mayor Beng Climaco for the cash aid they received. The drivers were also vaccinated against the COVID-19.

Climaco said the Local Social Amelioration Program is aimed at helping the jeepney drivers who are mostly affected by the pandemic. She said the distribution of cash assistance was also conducted simultaneously with the vaccination drive to ensure the drivers are protected from the deadly respiratory virus.

The distribution of the cash aid and vaccination were held at the Integrated Bus Terminal in Barangay Divisoria. Nearly 2,900 beneficiaries are expected to benefit from the program.

Climaco was assisted by social workers and medical frontliners. Rep. Jawo Jimenez and Councilor Pinpin Pareja also joined the recent rollout of the program. 

Last August, hundreds jeepney and tricycle drivers also benefitted from the rice and grocery goods donated by the benevolent Tzu Chi Foundation, a Taiwanese international humanitarian and non-governmental organization.

Climaco, who assisted in the distribution of food aid, thanked the Tzu Chi Foundation for its relief assistance to jeepney and tricycle drivers, and those under the transport sector. “Miles de gracias Dharma Master Cheng Yen and Tzu Chi Foundation. Muchisimas gracias Dr. Anton Lim and the Zamboanga Tzu Chi volunteers por el servicio con amor y compacion. Vaya con Dios,” Climaco said. 

The relief goods included 2 bags of 10-kilo rice and P500 worth of groceries. The assistance is intended to help those severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, the mayor said. 

The beneficiaries were among the more than 4,000 public utility drivers identified by the City Administrator’s Office and the Office of the Mayor. 

The local government also distributed rice assistance to residents affected by the health crisis, particularly those areas which have been locked down due to the high number of Covid-19 cases. “We are rolling out this rice assistance for beneficiaries in communities affected by the pandemic,” Climaco said. 

She said the local government has already distributed cash aid for people with disabilities (PWDs) at City Hall recently. The mayor vows to help more PWDs and indigent families as part of the local government’s welfare program for the poor. 

“This shows that no amount of disability can ever hinder a person’s right to live and have a successful life even in the face of the pandemic,” she said. (Zamboanga Post)