Amid various issues facing jeepney drivers and operators nationwide, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano on Thursday partnered up with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to provide assistance to a large transport group in Iloilo Province through his ‘Presyo, Trabaho, Kita/Kaayusan’ (PTK) program.
Cayetano’s Team distributed P2,000 in cash aid to 500 drivers and operators from various districts of the Iloilo province belonging to the Western Visayas Transport Cooperative (WVTC).
The distribution, which was made possible through DSWD’s Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS), was conducted with the help of the Office of Iloilo City Lone District Rep. Julienne Baronda and the City Government of Iloilo headed by Mayor Jerry Treñas.
The WVTC is a beneficiary of Cayetano’s PTK program, a 10-year-old initiative that provides seed capital to cooperatives and sectoral organizations which they can use to start a loan program of their own. Members can then get loans for their small businesses at a low interest rate.
The senator calls the program an “anti-5-6” initiative as it keeps micro, small, and medium enterprises from falling into debt traps, thereby helping them grow.
According to WVTC Chairperson Raymundo Parcon, the cooperative has grown financially and in terms of membership ever since it received the seed capital in 2015.
The group’s Chapter President Noel Garcia, meanwhile, thanked Cayetano for the assistance.
“Ang saya-saya naming mga driver dito sa Iloilo, at nagpapasalamat po kami dahil napakalaking tulong po talaga ng Presyo-Trabaho-Kita/Kaayusan program para sa amin,” he said.
The distribution was also facilitated by Pastor Antonino Carnaje of the Great Harvest Ministries, Inc. Iloilo City.
