By Chito Chavez A total of 1,265 local government units (LGUs) were able to beat the May 10 deadline for the distribution of the first tranche of the emergency cash aid under the Social Amelioration Program (SAP), the Department of Interior and Local Government said on Monday. DILG Secretary Eduardo Año (PCOO/ MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO) DILG Secretary Eduardo M. Año said the qualified beneficiaries are thankful since they can now use the cash aid to purchase the essentials they need. “Your work, however, is not yet done. We still have the second tranche but I am certain that you will be more systematic, quicker, and more efficient this time because of the lessons that you have learned from the first,” Año said. The DILG chief said that the overall national payout rate of the first tranche is 90.86 percent as of 11:59 p.m. of May 10. He said that those who were not able to beat the deadline can continue to distribute them to their constituents unless the DSWD demands for the return of the funds. The performance of the regions in the cash aid distribution are as follows: CARAGA, 100 percent; Bicol Region, 99.96 percent; SOCCSKSARGEN, 98.92 percent; Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), 96.8 percent; Zamboanga Peninsula, 96.47 percent; Central Luzon, 95.34 percent; Ilocos Region, 95 percent; Cagayan Valley, 92.82 percent; MIMAROPA, 92.06 percent; Northern Mindanao, 90.13 percent; Western Visayas, 88.77 percent; Eastern Visayas, 85.28 percent; National Capital Region (NCR), 85.13 percent; CALABARZON, 82.7 percent; Central Visayas, 80.45 percent; and Davao Region, 74 percent. “Performance speaks a lot on your leadership. A snappy salute to the local chief executives who acted swiftly in distributing the social amelioration cash subsidy to the deserving and needy families. How you served in the time of COVID-19 crisis will be remembered by the people whom you pledged to serve,” said Año. Año asked the 1,265 LGUs to immediately complete their liquidation reports on the distribution of the tranche of the financial assistance. “It includes the required encoded list of SAP beneficiaries of LGUs which is being posted by the DSWD on their website,’’ he added. Año said the DILG will start issuing show cause orders to the LGUs with poor performance in the distribution of the emergency subsidy. “The show cause order that will be issued to the LGU is not only their accountability to the DILG but most importantly to their constituents,’’ Año noted. He added that the concerned LGUs need to explain why they failed to meet the May 10 deadline. Of the 1,265 LGUs that have completed the payout, 70 are in CAR; 120 in Ilocos Region; 59 in Cagayan Valley; 107 in Central Luzon; 71 in CALABARZON; 69 in MIMAROPA; and 112 in Bicol Region. In Western Visayas, 129 LGUs completed the payout; 88 in Central Visayas; and 126 in Eastern Visayas. In Zamboanga Peninsula, 72 LGUs completed the payout; 88 in Northern Mindanao; 36 in Davao Region; 45 in SOCCSKSARGEN; and 73 in CARAGA. Metro Manila’s SAP distribution DILG Undersecretary and spokesman Jonathan E. Malaya said that NCR registered a regional pay-out rate of 85.13 percent as of midnight of May 10 with Caloocan City having the highest payout rate at 99 percent. “The DILG recognizes the difficulties faced by LGUs in Metro Manila because of the high population density in the capital region, which is also the epicenter of the COVID-19 crisis in the country. Our LGUs are doing simultaneously their regular functions together with the implementation of the lockdown, maintaining peace and order, and also doing contact tracing, isolating, and managing COVID cases, so we know how hard it is for them,” Malaya said. “Nonetheless, we urge them to immediately complete the distribution because their constituents need the aid immediately,” he added.