DISTANCING PROTOCOL. Beneficiaries of the Social Amelioration Program (SAP) observe physical distancing protocols as they line up to claim their emergency subsidy. DSWD Eastern Visayas said in a post on Wednesday (Aug. 19, 2020) that they have so far distributed PHP142.4 million to 28,481 beneficiaries through financial service provider (FSP) Starpay, while other FSPs are also available in the region. (Photo from DSWD Eastern Visayas)
MANILA – The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is on track in completing the payouts for the government’s Social Amelioration Program (SAP) to low-income families who were hardest-hit by the pandemic.
On Wednesday, the agency announced that as of August 18, it has already rolled out some PHP77.9 billion worth of cash assistance to 13,000,080 family beneficiaries under the second tranche of SAP (SAP 2).
Among their beneficiaries include frail senior citizens and persons with disabilities.
Seventy one-year-old Julio from Allen town in Northern Samar sent his gratitude after claiming his PHP5,000 aid.
It was mentioned in the agency’s post that before the public health crisis started, Julio sourced out his income from farming vegetables.
“Ang natanggap kong ayuda sa SAP ay pambili ko ng bigas, ulam, at gatas (I will use the SAP aid to get rice, food, and milk). Bibili rin ako ng lumang tsinelas kasi lumang-luma na itong ginagamit ko ngayon (I will also buy myself a pair of slippers because this one that I’m using is now worn-out). Maraming salamat sa ayuda, DSWD! (Thank you for the aid, DSWD!),” he was quoted in the post.
On Tuesday’s virtual presser, DSWD Secretary Rolando Joselito Bautista said the other existing programs of the agency are still being carried out despite focusing on addressing the effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) on the welfare of Filipinos.
This includes the Social Pension program for indigent senior citizens.
For the first semester of distribution, the agency doled out some PHP8.4 billion to about 2.8 million indigent senior citizens nationwide.
DSWD central office has also been replenishing the local government units’ (LGUs) storage of family food packs (FFPs) in time for the typhoon season.
They have given some 1.6 million FFPs as well as non-food items such as sanitary kits worth PHP795 million to LGUs nationwide.
Bautista also said they have assisted some 94,231 returning overseas Filipino workers through their help desk at Ninoy Aquino International Airport terminals and 338 repatriated overseas Filipinos from China, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, and Malaysia with cash worth PHP1.3 billion.
Meanwhile, Bautista also assured the public that while there may have been delays in the distribution of the SAP 2 aid, the agency is using all its resources to complete the distribution to its 14.1 million family beneficiaries.
The “Bayanihan to Heal As One” Act has given the national government powers to provide emergency subsidies to low-income families.
Joint Memorandum Circular No. 1 of 2020 stated that the subsidy shall amount to a minimum of PHP5,000 to a maximum of PHP8,000 a month for two months to provide for basic food, medicine, and toiletries. (PNA)
