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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'Hindi matiwasay': Benitez give brutal assessment of DSWD's cash aid distribution to riders

'Hindi matiwasay': Benitez give brutal assessment of DSWD's cash aid distribution to riders

Published Apr 18, 2026 10:13 pm

At A Glance

  • To say that House Deputy Speaker Bacolod City lone district Rep. Albee Benitez is disappointed with the Department of Social Welfare and Development's (DSWD) "ayuda" (aid) distribution is a huge understatement.
Bacolod City lone district Rep. Albee Benitez (Facebook)
Bacolod City lone district Rep. Albee Benitez (Facebook)


To say that House Deputy Speaker Bacolod City lone district Rep. Albee Benitez is disappointed with the Department of Social Welfare and Development's (DSWD) "ayuda" (aid) distribution is a huge understatement.
Benitez took to his Facebook on Saturday, April 18 to give her firsthand assessment of the agency's output amid the fuel price crisis. He didn't leave a glowing review.
"There seems to be a disconnect between actual conditions on the ground and what the Department of Social Welfare and Development hails as a success. Hindi po naging matiwasay ang distribution ng cash relief assistance (The distribution of cash relief assistance was not orderly)," he wrote.
"Magmula umaga, at sa kasagsagan ng buong araw na init ay pumila ang mga driver para makatanggap ng tulong. Ako po mismo ay nakasaksi nito (From morning until the peak of the day’s heat, drivers lined up to receive aid. I myself witnessed this)," Benitez noted.
Saturday coincided with the DSWD's scheduled special cash relief assistance (CRA) payouts on for motorcycle (MC) taxi and service delivery riders in Metro Manila who were not included in the original masterlist of beneficiaries.
For the Visayan-House leader, the sight of queueing riders under the searing weather was unacceptable.
"There has to be a better way of releasing aid than what just happened," he said.
"Bugbog na ang mga driver dahil sa dagok ng mahal na petrolyo at sa epekto nito sa kanilang kabuhayan. Huwag na natin silang tanggalan pa ng dignidad at bigyan ng kahihiyan," he underscored.
(Drivers are already battered by the blow of expensive fuel and its impact on their livelihood. Let us not strip them further of their dignity or subject them to humiliation.)
"Those who receive aid deserve to do so under humane conditions. That is why I appeal not only to the DSWD, but all frontline agencies, to ensure that there is a better system and a better environment for distributing aid," Benitez said.
The dismayed congressman further said: "Hindi utang na loob ng mga kababayan natin ang tulong na nararapat sa kanila. Lagi nating tandaan, tayo sa pamahalaan ang naatasang magsilbi."
(The assistance rightfully belongs to our people; it is not a debt of gratitude. We must always remember, we in government are tasked to serve.)

Related Tags

Albee Benitez DSWD AYUDA Rider Fuel price crisis
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