11.1 million low-income families to get 2nd tranche of SAP cash aid
Published May 13, 2020 12:00 am
By Charissa Luci-Atienza
Around 11.1 million low-income families are expected to receive the second wave of cash aid under the government's Social Amelioration Program (SAP), the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said on Wednesday.
DSWD Secretary Rolando Bautista
(PCOO / MANILA BULLETIN) DSWD Secretary Rolando Bautista said the five million "left out" beneficiaries who were not included in the master list of beneficiaries for the April emergency subsidies, but are eligible, and the initial SAP beneficiaries in areas which remain under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), will be prioritized when the agency distributes the emergency subsidies. "Nire-refer ko po palagi sa resolution ng IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force)  more or less po aabot sila ng 11.1 million families. Kasama na po dito ang left out at original na 18  million na nakasama dito sa ECQ," he said. (I am always referring to the IATF resolution,  more or less there will be 11.1 million beneficiary-families. These include the left out and the original 18 million which are included in the ECQ.) Under Republic Act No. 11469, the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act,  18 million low-income households are entitled to receive emergency cash subsidies ranging from  P5,000 to 8,000 based on the respective regional wage rates for the months of April and May. "'Yung second tranche,  ang magiging prioridad ay sa ECQ kasi alam naman natin na 'yung mga nasa GCQ (general community quarantine)  mabubuksan ang ekonomiya,  makakapagtrabaho ang tao kaya may pagkakataon sila na magkaron ng suporta sa kanilang pangangailangan," Bautista said. (For the second tranche, priority will be given to ECQ areas since we know that those in GCQ, the economy will open up,  people can work,  they have opportunity to support their own needs.) Among the areas placed under the modified ECQ are the National Capital Region (NCR), Laguna, and Cebu City. Bautista said that before they implement the second phase of SAP,  they need to await Malacañang's issuance of a written order or executive order that will serve as the basis for the drafting of guidelines on the second wave of cash subsidies and that the local government units (LGUs), especially in ECQ areas, have to submit their liquidation reports after completion of the payout. "Hinihintay lang namin yung executive order para ito ang magiging pamantayan namin para gumawa kami ng guidelines para sa payout ng second tranche," he said. (We are just waiting for the executive order because that will serve as the basis for us to come up with guidelines for the payout for the second tranche.) "Ang pangalawa ay nakaangkla din ang pagbibigay ng second tranche dun sa liquidation report ng ating mga lokal na pamahalaan. Importante po ito kelangan po natin i-validate ang liquidation report ng ating mga LGUs. Dun natin titingnan kung may duplikasyon at the same time may nakasama dun na di naman eligible. Kailangan maging stringent po tayo dun," he explained. (Secondly, the distribution of the second tranche will depend on the LGUs' submission of the liquidation report. This is important to validate the liquidation report of the LGUs. From there,  we will check if there is duplication, and at the same time,  to see if there are ineligible beneficiaries who were included. We have to be stringent.) Bautista said 1,078 of the 1,634 local government units (LGUs) have completed the SAP distribution. In the National Capital Region (NCR), eight cities already recorded 100-percent SAP payout, he said. He also noted that of the 17 regions,  Region  V (Bicol) and CARAGA completed the distribution of cash subsidies. The DSWD Chief said 151 LGUs already submitted their liquidation reports. Under the DSWD guidelines, the LGUs are required to submit the liquidation and financial reporting documents, including the list of encoded SAP beneficiaries, to the DSWD within 15 days from the completion of the distribution. Bautista said they are exploring ways on how to expeditiously distribute the cash subsidies after President  Duterte on Monday night directed the DSWD to lead the SAP distribution following the snowballing complaints against the purported irregularities in the release of emergency subsidies. "Para masigurado na mapabilis ang second tranche,  pinag-aaralan namin using other digital platforms para mapabilis at walang contact sa pagbibigay ng ayuda," he said. (To ensure the expeditious distribution of the second tranche, we are studying to use other digital platforms for a contact-less distribution of the cash aid.) In a Viber message,  DSWD spokesperson Irene Dumlao said they are hoping to finalize the details on the planned digital payment of cash subsidies or contact-less SAP this week.
DSWD Secretary Rolando Bautista(PCOO / MANILA BULLETIN) DSWD Secretary Rolando Bautista said the five million "left out" beneficiaries who were not included in the master list of beneficiaries for the April emergency subsidies, but are eligible, and the initial SAP beneficiaries in areas which remain under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), will be prioritized when the agency distributes the emergency subsidies. "Nire-refer ko po palagi sa resolution ng IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force)  more or less po aabot sila ng 11.1 million families. Kasama na po dito ang left out at original na 18  million na nakasama dito sa ECQ," he said. (I am always referring to the IATF resolution,  more or less there will be 11.1 million beneficiary-families. These include the left out and the original 18 million which are included in the ECQ.) Under Republic Act No. 11469, the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act,  18 million low-income households are entitled to receive emergency cash subsidies ranging from  P5,000 to 8,000 based on the respective regional wage rates for the months of April and May. "'Yung second tranche,  ang magiging prioridad ay sa ECQ kasi alam naman natin na 'yung mga nasa GCQ (general community quarantine)  mabubuksan ang ekonomiya,  makakapagtrabaho ang tao kaya may pagkakataon sila na magkaron ng suporta sa kanilang pangangailangan," Bautista said. (For the second tranche, priority will be given to ECQ areas since we know that those in GCQ, the economy will open up,  people can work,  they have opportunity to support their own needs.) Among the areas placed under the modified ECQ are the National Capital Region (NCR), Laguna, and Cebu City. Bautista said that before they implement the second phase of SAP,  they need to await Malacañang's issuance of a written order or executive order that will serve as the basis for the drafting of guidelines on the second wave of cash subsidies and that the local government units (LGUs), especially in ECQ areas, have to submit their liquidation reports after completion of the payout. "Hinihintay lang namin yung executive order para ito ang magiging pamantayan namin para gumawa kami ng guidelines para sa payout ng second tranche," he said. (We are just waiting for the executive order because that will serve as the basis for us to come up with guidelines for the payout for the second tranche.) "Ang pangalawa ay nakaangkla din ang pagbibigay ng second tranche dun sa liquidation report ng ating mga lokal na pamahalaan. Importante po ito kelangan po natin i-validate ang liquidation report ng ating mga LGUs. Dun natin titingnan kung may duplikasyon at the same time may nakasama dun na di naman eligible. Kailangan maging stringent po tayo dun," he explained. (Secondly, the distribution of the second tranche will depend on the LGUs' submission of the liquidation report. This is important to validate the liquidation report of the LGUs. From there,  we will check if there is duplication, and at the same time,  to see if there are ineligible beneficiaries who were included. We have to be stringent.) Bautista said 1,078 of the 1,634 local government units (LGUs) have completed the SAP distribution. In the National Capital Region (NCR), eight cities already recorded 100-percent SAP payout, he said. He also noted that of the 17 regions,  Region  V (Bicol) and CARAGA completed the distribution of cash subsidies. The DSWD Chief said 151 LGUs already submitted their liquidation reports. Under the DSWD guidelines, the LGUs are required to submit the liquidation and financial reporting documents, including the list of encoded SAP beneficiaries, to the DSWD within 15 days from the completion of the distribution. Bautista said they are exploring ways on how to expeditiously distribute the cash subsidies after President  Duterte on Monday night directed the DSWD to lead the SAP distribution following the snowballing complaints against the purported irregularities in the release of emergency subsidies. "Para masigurado na mapabilis ang second tranche,  pinag-aaralan namin using other digital platforms para mapabilis at walang contact sa pagbibigay ng ayuda," he said. (To ensure the expeditious distribution of the second tranche, we are studying to use other digital platforms for a contact-less distribution of the cash aid.) In a Viber message,  DSWD spokesperson Irene Dumlao said they are hoping to finalize the details on the planned digital payment of cash subsidies or contact-less SAP this week.