The initial beneficiaries are the 10,000 tricycle drivers from the city’s fourth district, all members of the 32-group-strong tricyle Drivers and Operators’ Associations.
Belmonte said the project is a citywide undertaking, with District 4 acting as a model for the entire city. Quezon City has four districts with 142 barangays.
The local chief executive, in his speech, underscored the important role played by the tricyle drivers in moving people and commerce in places not accessible to other modes of transport.
Belmonte also thanked the First Gentleman and President Arroyo for their continuing support of Quezon City residents.
He narrated that when Mrs. Arroyo was still a senator, she gave P48 million for the construction of the Diosdado Macapagal Elementary School in Barangay Tatalon. The mayor was then congressman, representing the fourth district of Quezon City.
For his part, Mr. Arroyo said the development taking place in Quezon City, makes him proud to be a resident of the city. The First Family used to live in La Vista in Quezon City before moving to Malacañang in 2001.
The accident insurance coverage for tricycle drivers in Quezon City was initiated by the city government through the office of Councilor Alma Montilla, in cooperation with the Kaibigan ni Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Foundation with former Philippine Sports Commission chairman Butch Tuazon as project director. – Pamela Samia