Party-list offers school grants to transport sector

By Dexter A. See

BAGUIO CITY – A party-list group is offering dependents of public utility drivers nationwide in order to boost their chances of being gainfully employed and mitigate the effects of the global financial crisis to the transport sector.

The 1-UTAK party-list headed by Rep. Vigor Mendoza II was in town Friday to screen the supposed beneficiaries of the scholarship grant for dependents of public utility vehicle drivers in the region.

Mendoza disclosed the scholarship grants for dependents of drivers, especially those who plan to take up technical-vocational courses, is an initiative of the transport sector to lessen the burden of the drivers in having to support their children to pursue a higher degree of education.

According to him, they were able to source out sufficient funding support through the help of the Public Transport Workers Foundation (PTWF) for the continuous implementation of the scholarship program to ensure that more dependents of the drivers will be able to become productive citizens of the country in the future and help improve the country’s economic growth.

Aside from offering scholarship grants to the dependents of the workers in the public transport sector, Mendoza disclosed they are also offering alternative livelihood to displaced workers in their sector, especially in agricultural production, so that they will be able to cope up with the continuous negative impact of the global financial crisis to their current state of living.

Initially, the 1-UTAK party-list has identified a 20-hectare agriculture land in Tarlac where the beneficiaries of the group’s agricultural production will be piloted since there are already companies which have committed to purchase the cash crops produced in the area.

The lawmaker cited public transport workers must learn to venture in other possible sources of livelihood during the hard times in order to survive the crisis, thus, they are offering them various kinds of programs and projects for better income source in the future.

Because of the absence of the regular Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) given to lawmakers for this year, Mendoza disclosed the party-list group was able to source out over P1 billion to fund the implementation of their own poverty alleviation programs for the upliftment of the public transport workers in the midst of the worldwide economic meltdown which is expected to last for the next three years.

Mendoza added they are also providing affordable housing for public transport workers in order to lessen the burden of having to spend most of their earned income in renting a temporary shelter.

With all the interventions being given by the group to the members of the transport sector, Mendoza is confident the commuting public will now be assured of safe and efficient travel since drivers will no longer be burdened in thinking of how to survive another day since they could now concentrate in providing an efficient and effective public transport.

Members of the public transport sector are considered to be one of the marginalized sectors in the country because of the meager income they are earning from the long hours of stay on the roads which sometimes result to vehicular accidents that claim lives and damage to properties.