The Sangguniang Bayan of Virac to investigate the release of the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s cash aid to unqualified tricycle drivers has recommended improved coordination to prevent a repeat of the incident.

In its report last week, the Ad-Hoc Committee chaired by Councilor Fredeswindo A. Gianan Jr. urged that the local government unit and the Municipal SWD Office should take stronger responsibility for verifying the eligibility of recipients for the Cash Relief Assistance.

“The LGU and MSWDO must always have an updated list of Motorized Tricycle Operator’s Permit holders, including the name of designated or authorized drivers if the MTOP holder is not the driver of the tricycle, to ensure a complete and accurate list before payouts, and if possible, use CBMS data for validation,” the councilor stated.

The committee also stressed that if there is a request for a list of registered tricycle drivers from the Sanggunian, the release of the list must be covered by a transmittal letter duly signed by the chairman of the Committee on Public Utility and Transportation and approved by the Municipal Vice-Mayor.

Implemented by DSWD under the Assistance to Individual in Crisis Situation (AICS) Program, the CRA was aimed at aiding the transport sector following the increase in local fuel prices as a result of the Middle East conflict.

Under the guidelines for the pilot implementation of the Cash Relief Assistance, the LGU through the MSWDO were mandated to identify the drivers of tricycles registered and permitted to operate in their respective areas.

However, during the first batch of pay-outs in the capital town last April 22, 2026, legitimate tricycle drivers and concerned citizens aired complaints that several unqualified individuals were included in the list of beneficiaries submitted to the DSWD – Catanduanes Satellite Office and were able to claim the P5,000 cash aid, among them were a Punong Barangay and Barangay Kagawad who did not own a tricycle.

An initial investigation by the municipal council found that the office of Councilor Alexander Abundo, who chairs the Committee on Public Utility and Transportation, included in the list several individuals who were not legitimate tricycle drivers or holders of Motorized Tricycle Operator’s Permit (MTOP).

A staff member, Joy Codilla, admitted to the committee that they vetted individuals based only on photocopies of their driver’s licenses submitted without further verification of their MTOP or legitimate authorization as a tricycle driver.

The Ad-Hoc Committee’s report noted that a total of 2,331 individuals were included in the list submitted by the office of Councilor Abundo to MSWDO head Loriecel S. Adra, who in turn forwarded the same list on April 17, 2026 to the DSWD – Catanduanes Satellite Office headed by Project Officer II Deborah Ester Arevalo.

During her appearance before the committee on June 10, 2026, Arevalo said that last April 8, 2026, she submitted a list which they received from DSWD Central Office containing the names of 1,116 individuals from their database of tricycle drivers in Virac to Adra for validation as legitimate tricycle drivers in the town.

However, Arevalo alleged that due to time constraints and lack of means and manpower to validate the list of 2,331 individuals submitted by the MSWD, the DSWD Satellite Office used the list containing the names of 1,116 individuals sent by the DWSD Central Office as basis in the first batch of CRA distribution on April 22, 2026.

During said payout, a total of 794 individuals each claimed the P5,000.00 cash aid. However, a validation done by the committee showed that 135 individuals were found unqualified to receive the cash assistance for lack of an MTOP or authorization or designation as drivers of an MTOP holder.

On the other hand, despite having been provided with a list of legitimate MTOP holders or tricycle drivers from the LGU Licensing Office, the DSWD – Catanduanes Satellite Office still allowed 112 unqualified individuals to claim the P5,000 CRA during their June 2026 payout for the Second Batch.

Thus, a total of 247 unqualified individuals were able to claim the cash aid, equivalent to a total amount of P1,235,000.00, during the first and second payouts conducted by the DSWD – Catanduanes Satellite Office.

In the summary of its findings, the Ad-Hoc Committee stated that a total of 823 unqualified individuals were included by the office of Councilor Abundo in the list of 2,331 individuals submitted to the DSWD – Catanduanes Satellite Office since there were only 1,508 registered MTOP holders or authorized/ designated drivers in the list from the LGU Licensing Office.

Contrary to the allegation of Project Officer II Arevalo that they utilized the list from the DSWD Central Office database, the DSWD Catanduanes District Office used the list submitted by the office of Councilor Abundo containing the names of 2,331 individuals during their first payout.

Only six (6) unqualified individuals who were able to claim P5,000 each during the first pay-out were included in the list from the central office database while the names of the remaining 129 unqualified individuals were not in the said list but are included in the list submitted by the office of Councilor Abundo.