TABUK CITY, Kalinga (PIA) — Government fuel assistance is providing temporary relief to tricycle drivers in Kalinga whose income has been affected by rising fuel prices.
Teofilo Arias, a tricycle driver from Pinukpuk, said their daily earnings have significantly dropped as gasoline prices nearly doubled, leaving little for their families.
“Nu idi ket ti income mi ti maysa aldaw ket haan nga bumaba ti 500; tadta ket halos awan ti maiyawid mi ta halos doble ti presyo ti gasoline,” he said.
(Before, our daily income would not go below P500, but now, we can hardly earn anything because gasoline prices have almost doubled.)
Arias is among the 120 tricycle drivers and operators from Pinukpuk and Rizal who received cash assistance from the government on Thursday, April 16, 2026.
Each of them received P5,000 aid under the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) program.
The payout is the second rollout of fuel assistance in the province, following the earlier distribution to 1,187 tricycle drivers in Tabuk City.
For Arias, the assistance will help cover fuel and his tricycle’s minor repair costs.
“Isu nga agyaman kami ken BBM ken ti gobyerno iti daytoy nga naawat mi nga tulong ta uray kaskasano ket makatulong met kadakami,” he added, thanking the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. for the assistance.
(We are thankful to BBM and the government for this assistance because it somehow helps us.)
Another driver, William Luminga, said the cash aid will also help with daily household expenses but hopes for a more lasting solution.
“Thank you unay iti daytoy nga cash assistance, ket sapay kuma ta bumaba ti presyo ti gasolina,” he said.
(Thank you very much for this cash assistance, and we hope that fuel prices will go down soon.)
The assistance is part of the efforts of the government to cushion the effects of rising oil prices amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. **JDP/RGA-PIA CAR, Kalinga
