By Joseph Almer Pedrajas
Valenzuela City Mayor Rex Gatchalian on Tuesday said the local government might consider appealing to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to do another round of identifying residents to be qualified for the Social Amelioration Program (SAP).
Valenzuela City Mayor Rex Gatchalian (Rex Gatchalian official Facebook page / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
Gatchalian said they would do it if there would still be slots available once the distribution is done.
This came after the names of at least 36 residents of Barangay Bagbaguin appeared twice on the list of beneficiaries of DSWD's SAP, occupying two slots instead of just one.
"Halimbawa, sumobra nga yung pondo, tapos meron pa kaming applicants, pwede pang isama pa ulit 'yun (For example, there is an excess in the fund, then we saw some applicants that were not included initially that we can still include again)," he said, giving assurance that no resident would be able to get cash aid twice as DSWD and local government personnel are doing double-checking during payouts.
Gatchalian also appealed to his constituents already qualified for the program to wait for their cash assistance as the distribution is not yet done.
"By today, sa tala namin, nasa 30 percent pa lang kami. Kaya nga diba ang panawagan namin sa tao, wag muna kayong magreact kasi hindi porket hindi pa kayo kasama ngayon, hindi na kayo kasama forever (As of today, in our list, we are already at 30 percent. That's why my appeal to the people is to avoid reacting first because if you were not included today, it doesn't mean you're not included forever)," he said.