San Juan City has temporarily suspended the release of the second tranche of the government’s social amelioration program (SAP) as the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) needs to verify and validate anew the list of beneficiaries.
Mayor Francis Zamora said payout of the financial assistance would be put on hold starting Saturday, (Aug. 29) after it was discovered that over 1,000 SAP recipients were not able to update their contact information.
Zamora said beneficiaries must provide their latest contact details so they can receive the seven-digit card access number needed to withdraw the P8,000 cash aid.
The DSWD-National Capital Region recommended the suspension of the release of the SAP payout to give them time to conduct verification and validation of recipients.
“Pansamantalang pina-hold ng DSWD-NCR ang SAP Payout sa ating lungsod upang magsagawa muli ng verification at validation (The DSWD-NCR has temporarily suspended the SAP payout in the city to verify and validate contact details again),” said Zamora in an advisory.
“Higit isang libo pa sa ating mga benepisyaryo ng SAP ang hindi pa rin nakapag-update ng kani-kanilang mga contact information kaya hindi nakatanggap o makakatanggap ng 7-digit Card Access Number (More than a thousand SAP beneficiaries have not yet updated their contact information which is why they have not yet received their 7-digit Card Access Number),” he added.
The mayor noted that more than 3,000 beneficiaries on the first tranche were removed from the list of SAP recipients after receiving separate cash assistance from other government programs and agencies.
This means that only more than 13,000 San Juan residents are qualified to receive the second tranche of the SAP.
The mayor assured that the release of the cash aid would continue once the DSWD gives them the authority to proceed.
On Friday (Aug. 28), the San Juan City government started the card-less payout of P8,000 cash aid at the 4,000-seater FilOil Flying V Centre to prevent beneficiaries from trooping at partner banks and ensure that minimum health standards are observed.
The city government has coordinated with Robinsons Bank to provide four automatic teller machines (ATMs) at the arena for an orderly, easy and convenient distribution of the cash assistance.