By Charissa Luci-Atienza
Around 1.3 million beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) from areas under an enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) will receive the Social Amelioration Program (SAP) emergency cash subsidy this week, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said on Tuesday, June 8.
Department of Social Welfare and Development (MANILA BULLETIN)
DSWD Undersecretary Rene Glen Paje said, just like in the first tranche, the 4Ps beneficiaries will be the first ones to receive the cash aid since they have already undergone the deduplication process.
“Nasa 1.3 million 4Ps beneficiaries po na cash card holders na nasa ECQ areas ang makakatanggap ng ayuda para sa second tranche ,” he said during the "uSAP TAYO!" virtual presser on Tuesday.
Based on the latest SAP monitoring data for the first tranche, over 3.8 million 4Ps beneficiaries who are holders of Europay, Mastercard, and Visa EMV cash cards have received P16.8 billion worth of emergency subsidies, as of June 8.
Over P1.55 billion, meanwhile, has been distributed to 411, 125 4Ps recipients who are non-cash holders.
Paje said the agency is readying the payout for the additional 5 million “waitlisted” beneficiaries, even as he reminded local government units (LGUs) to identify all eligible recipients under their jurisdiction who have been left out.
“Prayoridad po sila dahil hindi pa sila nakatanggap sa unang bahagi ng SAP. Isusunod po dito ang mga lugar na nakapagsagawa na at natapos ang validation,” he said.
Citing DSWD guidelines, Paje said the master list of beneficiaries to be submitted by the LGUs must be certified and signed by the City/Municipal/Provincial Social Welfare and Development officer and their local chief executive. The list must include the names of the beneficiaries and their SAC identification numbers, he said.
He added that the certification must state that the names on the submitted master list are reviewed and qualified or eligible based on existing guidelines.
Paje explained that the master list submitted to the DSWD field offices will be subjected to regional deduplication, which means cross-matching of the names of beneficiaries with the available databases of the Department and list/s shared by other government agencies implementing SAP.
Paje noted that the list shall further be subjected to deduplication process at the DSWD Central Office to determine any duplication at the inter-regional level to arrive at a certified list.
The DSWD earlier urged LGUs to publicly post their master list for verification of their respective constituents.
Paje encouraged those qualified beneficiaries who did not receive the first tranche to coordinate with their local government’s social welfare and development office for possible inclusion in the program.
During the “Laging Handa” network briefing, Paje was asked by a provincial media personnel in Agusan del Sur if journalists or writers who lost their jobs during the pandemic can be financially assisted by the DSWD.
“Kung sa inyong pananaw ay kayo ay qualified, dapat po nagpatala kayo sa local social welfare and development officers o sa inyong munisipyo upang kayo ay mapasama sa waitlisted na sya ring makakatanggap ng ayuda sa DSWD,” he said.
In a Viber message to the Manila Bulletin, DSWD Spokesperson Irene Dumlao said those who will benefit from the second tranche are more than 8.5 million low-income families, the five million “waitlisted” beneficiaries nationwide as approved by President Duterte for inclusion in the program, and the 3.5 million from the waitlist.
Paje appealed to the LGUs to submit their complete liquidation reports so that the DSWD can fast track its validation and deduplication process.
He said that 1,104 of the 1,634 LGUs submitted their complete liquidation reports as of June 7, while 222 LGUs are set to complete their financial documentary requirements. This is 81.15 percent of the total number of LGUs nationwide, he noted.
A total of 1, 542 LGUs have completed their SAP payouts.
During the briefing, Paje said aside from SAP, the DSWD through its Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS ) also extended a total of P705 million in cash aid to 162,138 individuals, including seafarers and stranded persons.
He noted that the DSWD is also providing augmentation support for LGUs by distributing one million family food packs (FFPs), and other food and non-food items worth P469 million.
He said P5.6 billion worth of social pension has been distributed to over 1.8 million indigent senior citizens.