The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is working with key agencies to clean up a flawed list of fuel subsidy beneficiaries after uncovering thousands of questionable entries, including so-called “ghost drivers.”
DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian said the agency will coordinate with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to validate and “sanitize” the list submitted by transport network companies (TNCs).
The move follows the discovery of discrepancies in the beneficiary database, which includes transport network vehicle service (TNVS) drivers, motorcycle taxi riders, and delivery personnel. The issues have delayed the full rollout of fuel subsidies through digital wallets.
Speaking at a Senate hearing led by Sherwin Gatchalian, chair of the PROTECT Committee, the DSWD chief said errors such as duplicate and triplicate entries, as well as inconsistencies in names, could have led to billions in losses if left unchecked.
“In the course of payouts, we found duplicates, triplicates, and other errors. Had we proceeded with automatic e-wallet transfers based solely on submitted lists, around P2.7 billion could have gone to non-existent beneficiaries,” he said.
He also cited cases where individuals claiming subsidies failed to present valid driver’s licenses, raising concerns over identity verification and possible system abuse. The use of multiple digital accounts, he added, could have enabled fraudulent claims.
As of April 28, the DSWD has distributed P5.7 billion in aid to more than 1.14 million public transport drivers nationwide, part of the government’s P30-billion relief program to cushion the impact of rising fuel prices.
However, a review of submitted data showed 385,858 entries with duplicate names, while another 164,960 were flagged for various issues. Only about 1.67 million records were considered clean.
To address the problem, the DSWD has begun manual verification of beneficiaries and is shifting away from one-on-one interviews with social workers to speed up the process. The agency also plans to coordinate with the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) to cross-check identities using the national ID system.
Once validated, the cleaned list will be shared with the LTFRB, Department of Transportation, and PSA for further verification and integration into official records.
Gatchalian stressed the need to ensure only legitimate beneficiaries receive aid.
“We need to verify that these are real people and actual drivers. The last thing we want is public funds going to ghost or fictitious beneficiaries,” he said.
The government has so far disbursed over P41.6 billion in the first two months of its intervention program aimed at cushioning the impact of global fuel price pressures on the transport sector.