More livelihood options await Valenzuela City’s tricycle drivers and operators as the City Government of Valenzuela signs into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Food Panda Philippines Incorporated (FPPI) today, September 24, 2020.

With the pasabay system already established in Valenzuela City to open up livelihood opportunities for Tricycle Operators and Drivers' Associations (TODAs), the new partnership shall provide additional means for tricycle drivers to maximize online deliveries as more online food delivery services come into play to help local government units during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Foodpanda, one of the most popular online food delivery apps in the Philippines, initiated pandaTODA as a Corporate Social Advocacy (CSA) to support local communities in making sure that partner restaurants are made more available and accessible, while also providing an alternative means of living to tricycle drivers who were adversely affected by the community quarantine’s public transportation restrictions.

Tricycle operations in Valenzuela City are on a reduced capacity and are based on an odd-even number coding scheme following the minimum health standards set by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID). Tricycle drivers whose numbers are not allowed to ply the roads on a specific day can operate as a pandaTODA rider.

“That’s one side wherein the pandaTODA goes in to support the displaced TODA riders. At the same time, this program supports the community to lessen the foot traffic outside their homes,” Mr. Leopoldo de Castro, Jr., FPPI Finance Director, said.

“Our contribution is basically, we aim to deliver the food at the doorstep of each and every homeowner. So ‘yun ‘yung ating pangako sa ating komunidad and iyan ‘yung aming tulong sa panahon ng pandemiya (this is our promise and this is our assistance to the community during the time of the pandemic),” he added.

Qualified beneficiary drivers, screened and determined by the Public Employment Service Office – Local Economic Investment Promotions Office (PESO-LEIPO) and the Public Order and Safety Group (POSG) of the City, will undergo orientation in the weeks to come. 150 beneficiary drivers will be trained to become an official pandaTODA rider.  

Valenzuela City Mayor REX Gatchalian further emphasizes that the new endeavor does not only answer the IATF instruction on health protocols, but also as an answer to the new normal instruction saying “This is an instruction of the new normal since it is not advisable anymore that we go to restaurants but rather to avail of the services of the restaurants… We bring it [food] to them [people]. We know that foodpanda’s partnership with different restaurants is of a large scale, this is a proof that we can help our Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises here in Valenzuela.”

“Magiging bahagi sila [TODAs] ng delivery system, so again sa mga TODA natin dagdag ito sa hanapbuhay ng mga driver natin… So at least parami nang parami ‘yung partner natin, parami ng parami yung pwedeng pagkaabalahan ng ating mga driver sa kanilang downtime (The TODAs will be part of the delivery system, so again this is an additional livelihood for our drivers… At least we have more partners now and the drivers have more options to earn a living during their downtime),” Mayor REX added.  

Ordinance No. 710, Series of 2020, or the "Pasabuy sa TODA Ordinance" also supports the MOA signing endeavor with foodpanda as Valenzuela City aims to entice TODA drivers to temporarily engage in online delivery services outside their franchise coverage and to also assist them in the registration process to be an online delivery or pasabuy service.