Senators criticized transport network vehicle services (TNVS) companies for their list of driver-beneficiaries containing repetitive names, allowing some drivers to receive aid more than once. Social Welfare and Development Secretary Rex Gatchalian called these ‘ghost drivers’ and said the government could have lost up to P2.7 billion if not flagged.
During the resumption of the PROTECT Middle East crisis hearing, Social Welfare and Development Secretary Rex Gatchalian reported challenges in providing aid to drivers via digital platforms. He described the TNVS ‘junk list’ of beneficiaries as containing duplicates or triplicates, such as names with or without the suffix ‘Jr.’, enabling double payouts through e-wallets.
“What was promised to us is a clean list by the transport network companies. But in the course of doing the payout, we found duplicates, triplicates, errors in names,” Gatchalian said. He added, “Had we used e-wallets without batting an eyelash, we would have lost P2.7 billion of much needed resources that would have gone to ‘ghost riders and drivers.’”
PROTECT ad hoc chair Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian criticized the TNVS firms for failing to clean their beneficiary list, leading to payout confusion and long queues. He recalled the heart attack death of a motorcycle taxi rider on April 18 while waiting in line in Quezon City.
Grab Philippines chief corporate affairs officer Sherielysse Bonifacio apologized and said the company “takes accountability” for the ‘junk’ list. She noted they have provided a new, more comprehensive “historical list” of drivers.
