Following the messy distribution of educational financial assistance across the country, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benjamin ‘Benhur’ Abalos Jr. urged local government units to provide ample assistance to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in order to prevent the repeat of the incident.
In urging LGUs to assist in the coming distribution of Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS), Abalos pointed out that LGUs have enough manpower to assist in the distribution process.
“In cases of cities and big municipalities, it is encouraged to have multiple distribution centers to avoid overcrowding of students and their parents,” Abalos said.
DSWD Secretary Erwin Tulfo earlier called on the LGUs to help facilitate the distribution of the AICS educational cash aid after people came in droves to the DSWD Central and regional offices.
“We call on our LGUs to respond proactively to the appeal of DSWD Secretary Tulfo,’’ he added.
Abalos stressed that the LGUs are not new to these kinds of financial aid distribution undertakings as he encouraged the localities to “step up and extend all the help that we can provide for the success of the distribution of financial aid to our students.”
The DILG chief pointed out that the memorandum of agreement (MOA) between the DILG and DSWD stated that the Social Welfare Department must coordinate with the LGUs for the conduct of information dissemination on the guidelines, mechanics, and schedule for registration of beneficiaries and distribution of assistance.
“In this massive undertaking, we look to our LGUs to assist us to be able to send out the AICS to the students who need them the most. Malaking bagay po ito para sa ating mga kababayan kaya naman inaaasahan natin ang tulong ng mga pamahalaang lokal (This is a big help to our countrymen that is why I expect the support of the local government),’’ Abalos maintained.
While LGUs will assist in the distribution of the financial assistance, Abalos insisted that “it will be the DSWD personnel and social workers, not local government personnel or barangays, who will give out the monetary aid.’’
“Mayroon po tayong tinatawag na paymasters ng DSWD na siyang mangangasiwa sa pamimigay ng assistance. Ang LGU po ay naroon upang umalalay (We have what we call the DSWD paymasters who will be responsible for the distribution of the assistance. The LGU will be present only to provide support),’’ Abalos clarified.
Abalos made it clear that the DSWD shall provide the DILG with the list of LGUs where the distribution will be conducted together with the date and time of the distribution.
Implemented by the DSWD, the AICS provides various protective services for vulnerable families, including education assistance to help defray the cost of tuition fees and school expenses. Under this program, elementary students from indigent families will each be provided with P1,000; high school students, P2,000: senior high school students, P3,000; and college students, P4,000.
PNP support
Abalos also directed the Philippine National Police (PNP) to provide police support during the implementation of the AICS to help ensure the orderly, safe and secure transport, delivery and distribution of funds.
Just like previous ‘ayuda’ distributions, Abalos stressed that the police would maintain order and ensure the safety of the people during the educational aid distribution.
He added that minimum public health standards (MPHS) must also be implemented as much as possible as the country is still battling the Covid-19 pandemic and has tallied three cases of Monkeypox.
Likewise, Abalos asked the LGUs to continue to implement their best practices in the distribution of financial assistance in terms of crowd management and mode of dissemination such as digital or online payouts.
He also reminded the beneficiaries to cooperate and adhere to the parameters set by the DILG and DSWD to ensure a more organized distribution of cash aid.
“Hinihiling po natin sa ating mga kababayan na makiisa po at pairalain ang disiplina kapag sila ay kukuha ng kanilang educational assistance para organized po tayo (We appeal to our countrymen to cooperate and conduct themselves in a disciplined manner for an organized process when getting their educational assistance),’’ Abalos maintained. (Chito A. Chavez)