ZAMBOANGA CITY -- The Department of Social Welfare and Development in Region 9 (DSWD-9) has advised the beneficiaries of the Social Amelioration Program (SAP) to spend wisely the cash aid the government has given them.
Ivan Eric Salvador, DSWD-9 information officer, said Monday the cash assistance should be used to buy the basic needs of the family to cope with the ongoing health crisis.
However, Salvador clarified the agency has so far not received reports of wrongdoings in the region involving the use of SAP benefits.
“The local government unit should be on top of monitoring the beneficiaries of the program,” Salvador said.
How each family is going to spend the financial assistance is beyond the control of the DSWD, he said, as he cited media reports in other areas showing that some of the beneficiaries used the cash grant for gambling and other vices.
The DSWD earlier announced that 721,841 families will benefit from the government’s Social Amelioration Program (SAP) in Region 9 to cushion the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) crisis on poor families
In this city, the distribution of the SAP continued on Monday in the barangays by the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO).
The DSWD has turned over the amount of PHP582.59 million as part of the first tranche (month of April) of the SAP. (PNA)
