THE Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Wednesday said only 11.1 million low-income families will get the second tranche of the emergency cash subsidy under the Social Amelioration Program (SAP).
In a television interview, DSWD Secretary Rolando Bautista said the number will cover poor households living in areas that will be under modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) from May 16 to 31 and the additional five million households that were “left out” from the April tranche.
Only Metro Manila, Laguna and Cebu City will be under MECQ once the current enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) regulation lapses on May 15.
The current ECQ covers the cities and municipality in the National Capital Region; the provinces in Central Luzon except Aurora; the provinces in the Calabarzon region, and the provinces of Pangasinan, Albay, Iloilo, and Cebu; and the cities of Baguio, Legazpi, Iloilo, Cebu, Bacolod, Davao and Zamboanga.
The other areas have been downgraded to general community quarantine (GCQ) due to improved COVID-19 conditions in the jurisdictions.
Bautista said the DSWD is still waiting for an executive order or a similar issuance from the Office of the President which would serve as basis for the guidelines for the SAP payout in May, as well as clearly identify the exact number of beneficiaries for the second tranche.
He said another factor that will help the DSWD determine the eligible beneficiaries for the second tranche are the liquidation reports submitted by local government units (LGUs), which should include a list of the families who are eligible for the cash subsidy but had been “left out” from the list of beneficiaries in April.
The SAP, which was established under the Bayanihan To Heal As One Act, targeted as beneficiaries 18 million low income families and members of vulnerable sectors who were affected by the suspension of works after President Duterte placed the entire Luzon island under ECQ effective March 17. The ECQ has been extended twice — to April 30, and to May 15.
Eligible beneficiaries were supposed to get the P5,000 to P8,000 cash aid in April and May. The April tranche was distributed in all ECQ areas.
ACCOMPLISHMENT UPDATE
Bautista, during the Laging Handa network briefing, reiterated his call for LGUs to expedite the distribution of the April payout and the submission of their liquidation reports as DSWD still needs to validate the submissions to ensure that there is no duplication and only the right beneficiaries got the cash aid.
He said 1,078 of the 1,634 local government units had completed the distribution of the SAP, including eight cities in Metro Manila, and the Bicol and Caraga regions.
He said P93.5 billion of the P100 billion April allocation had already been received by some 16.5 million beneficiaries, including recipients of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).
Meanwhile, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Wednesday said the distribution of the first tranche of the SAP was already at 96 percent as of Tuesday night.
During the Laging Handa press briefing, DILG undersecretary and spokesman Jonathan Malaya sought to downplay television footage that highlighted the slow distribution in some areas.
Citing data as of 10 p.m, Malaya said 96 percent of the 18 million beneficiaries throughout the country already received their cash assistance.
“Ang ibig pong sabihin nito is nine out of 10, almost 10 ng mga benepisyaryo ay nabigyan na po ng social amelioration (This means one out of 10 or almost 10 of the beneficiaries were already given social amelioration),” said Malaya.
Malaya said the DILG is initially sending show cause orders to some 30 mayors throughout the country for failing to meet the May 10 deadline to complete the distribution of the first tranche of SAP funds in their areas.
Figures from the DILG showed 1,265 out of the 1,634 LGUs throughout the country were only able to meet the deadline. The distribution of the cash aid continued despite the deadline as the DSWD has yet to demand the LGUs to return the funds.
Meanwhile, Malaya reiterated that 5.9 million households who were left out in the distribution of the first tranche of SAP assistance will be receiving their aid.
“Inaprubahan ng ating Pangulo ‘yung additional na 5.9 million Filipinos na left out. Whether you are in ECQ or GCQ area, kayo po ay mabibiyayaan nitong Social Amelioration Program (The President already approved the additional 5.9 million Filipino who were left out. Whether you are in ECQ or GCQ areas, you will be given the assistance under the Social Amelioration Program),” he said.
Malaya, however, said beneficiaries living in areas already classified as GCQ who received SAP assistance during the first tranche of distribution, will not be receiving aid during the second tranche of distribution which is expected to start later this month.
MAKATI
Makati City mayor Abby Binay said around P364 million has been transferred to 72,777 residents on the first day of the contactless release of the city’s financial assistance under its “MAKA-tulong P5K for 500K+ Makatizens Program.”
Beneficiaries of MAKA-tulong P5K for 500K+ Makatizens Program were preselected as the Makati City government used the latest voters’ list as its data base.
Based on city records, the first batch of recipients of the P5,000-cash aid consists of 31,785 residents in District 1 and 40,992 residents in District 2. This translates to P158.925 million for District 1 and 204.960 million for District 2.
The distribution in District 1 barangays is as follows: Bangkal, 3,050 individuals; Bel-Air, 369; Carmona, 519; Dasmariñas, 171; Forbes Park, 167; Kasilawan, 1,054; La Paz, 1,230; Magallanes, 538; Olympia, 4,055; Palanan, 2,285; Pio del Pilar, 3,878; Poblacion, 3,090; San Antonio, 1,784; San Isidro, 1,564; San Lorenzo, 505; Singkamas, 1,372; Sta. Cruz, 1,468; Tejeros, 3,261; Urdaneta, 126; and Valenzuela, 1,299.
In District 2, the distribution is as follows: Cembo, 4,437; Comembo, 2,432; East Rembo, 4,208; Guadalupe Nuevo, 3,397; Guadalupe Viejo, 2,180; Pembo, 5,462; Pinagkaisahan, 1,024; Pitogo, 2,381; Post Proper Northside, 423; Post Proper Southside, 2,821; Rizal, 5,326; South Cembo, 2,650; and West Rembo, 4,251. — With Victor Reyes and Noel Talacay
