DILG gives LGUs ultimatum on cash aid payout

LOCAL executives have three days from Tuesday, or until Friday (May 1) to complete the distribution of cash aid under the government’s Social Amelioration Program (SAP), or they can be charged for dereliction of duty.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said this was the warning made by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) as it pressed local government units (LGUs) to speed up the distribution of the P5,000 to P8,000 cash assistance to the targeted 18 million low income families and members of vulnerable sectors.

“Mayroon pong tatlong araw na lamang mula ngayong araw ang lahat ng local government units na ipamigay ang SAP (Local government units have three days beginning today to finish the distribution of the SAP),” Roque said in a briefing on Tuesday.

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He said mayors who will fail to comply with the distribution of the SAP will be issued show-cause orders by the DILG and made to answer administrative and criminal charges.

“Administratively and criminally, they may be held liable for dereliction of duty, which is a form of graft,” Roque said.

Social Welfare Secretary Rolando Bautista said that as of April 27, the agency has downloaded P80.7 billion worth of SAP funds to 1,515 LGUs, which accounts for 98.3 percent of the SAP allocation for April.

Bautista said of the amount, LGUs have been able to distribute P42 billion to 8.2 million SAP beneficiaries, composed of the following: 4.5 million low-income, non-Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries (P23.8 billion); 3.7 million 4Ps cash cardholders (P16.3 billion); 7,874 4Ps non-cash cardholders (P36.4 million), 40,000 public utility drivers n Metro Manila (P323.3 million).

He said DSWD had also distributed 521,969 food packs worth P206.7 million nationwide, along with P119.5 million worth of cash aid to 27,390 clients under the assistance to individuals in crisis program, which includes funeral and medical aid due to COVID-19 and assistance to those stranded due to the lockdown. DSWD also distributed P578.622 million worth of social pension to 192, 874 indigent senior citizens.

DSWD spokeswoman Irene Dumlao said the target was to have the SAP payout for April distributed by April 30 but she assured beneficiaries who have yet to receive the first tranche of the payout that the distribution will  continue beyond this month if needed.

The agency had earlier admitted that the release of the May payout may be delayed if LGUs fails to complete the April distribution.

SLOW

Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Tuesday slammed anew the very slow distribution of government cash aid by the LGUs.

Sotto said was disappointed with the fifth Bayanihan Act report submitted by President Duterte to Congress on Monday which showed that only around six million of the targeted 18 million families have so far received the cash aid.

He noted that the subsidy have yet to be paid out despite the fact that the national government has already downloaded close to 97 percent of the needed amount.

Data from the Bayanihan Act showed there are 18,046,093 qualified families to receive P5,000 to P8,000 in cash assistance. The total allotted amount was P100,901,303,261 for the month of April.

As of April 24, the President’s report showed only 6,266,522 beneficiaries have received the government subsidy.

The report also showed the DSWD has already downloaded to LGUs P96,852,535,050, of which only P31,123,298,950 “has been received by the beneficiaries.”

“Ninety-seven percent na ang downloaded ng national government.  Nasa ibaba ang bagal at problema. One month ago pa sinasabi ko na national ID system ayusin (Ninety seven percent [of the cash has already been] downloaded by the national government.  The problem really is with the local government units.  I have been telling them to implement the national ID system since last month [to solve the problem]),” Sotto said.

Bautista said SAP beneficiaries living in areas who have been declassified and downgraded to general community quarantine (GCQ) starting May 1 will continue to receive the second tranche of the cash assistance.

“Sa ngayon, batay sa umiiral na panuntunan, kung sino iyung nakatanggap ng unang wave ay sila rin ang makakatanggap ngayong Mayo (For now, based on the prevailing guidelines, those who received the first wave will be the ones who will receive the aid in May),” he said.

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He reiterated that the SAP is for two months and covers low income household affected by the COVID 19 lockdown. — With Raymond Africa

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