A pharmacist-turned-TikTok content creator from Marinduque has distributed fuel assistance to over a thousand tricycle drivers in the province as fuel prices continue to climb in the wake of the Middle East conflict.
Arshie Larga, who runs a pharmacy in Marinduque and is known on TikTok for giving away free medicine to customers at his drugstore, directed his latest community initiative toward transport workers in Boac, channeling support to one of the sectors most exposed to the ongoing fuel price surge.
“Wala po akong ibang intensyon basta tumulong lamang po sa isa sa mga sektor na pinakaapektado ng krisis na ating kinakaharap ngayon,” Larga said in a recent TikTok video.
A total of 1,169 tricycle operators and drivers association (TODA) members in Boac each received P500 in fuel support through the initiative. “In total po, nakapagbigay po tayo ng P500 na fuel support sa 1,169 members ng TODA dito samin sa Boac, Marinduque,” he said.
The effort drew visible gratitude from recipients. “Sir, salamat po sa gasolina na libre. Ingat po kayo lagi,” one driver said in the video.
Larga credited those who contributed to making the initiative possible. “Gusto ko pong magpasalamat sa inyo dahil kung hindi po din dahil sa inyo ay hindi ko naman po magagawa ang initiative na ito,” he said.
Tricycle drivers across the Philippines have been among the hardest hit by successive weekly fuel price increases linked to supply disruptions from the Middle East conflict, with diesel prices having surged by as much as ₱18 per liter in recent weeks.
