By Charissa Luci-Atienza The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has started distributing emergency subsidies to low-income families in the Cagayan Valley and Bicol Regions. The DSWD Field Office II said the initial distribution of the cash aid under the government's Social Amelioration Program (SAP) was made on April 9 in Alicia, Isabela. A total of 13,270 low-income households in Alicia, Isabela have been identified to receive a P5,500 emergency subsidy. "The municipality of Alicia, Isabela was the first to receive funding for the implementation of SAP, receiving the assistance last Tuesday, April 07, 2020," the DSWD Region II wrote in a Facebook post. DSWD said they are targeting to complete the distribution of the cash aid in the next three days. "To date, the Field Office has already given funding to 59 out of the 93 LGUs (local government units) in the region, with more LGUs to follow in the coming days," it said. A total of 586,675 households have been identified as recipients of SAP in the Cagayan Valley Region, excluding the 106,122 beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), the DSWD noted. Of the total number of target beneficiaries in Region II, 5,958 are from Batanes province, 199,683 from Cagayan, 269,987 from Isabela, 80,903 from Nueva Vizcaya, and 30,144 from Quirino. The DSWD Field Office II assured the distribution of food and non-food items to LGUs with depleted supplies. "Field Office staff, meanwhile, continue repacking food items to add to the existing stockpile, ready for augmentation to partner LGUs," they said. "The support given by the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has likewise been critical in ensuring safety and security in the conduct of DSWD activities in the region." Meanwhile, DSWD Region V announced that the SAP was already implemented in Bicol Region, particularly in Tabaco city in Albay province. "Nagsimula nang mamahagi ng tulong pinansyal ang DSWD Region V, sa pakikipagtulungan ng lokal na pamahalaan ng Tabaco, para sa Social Amelioration Program," they wrote in a Facebook post. (The DSWD Region V started distributing the financial aid, in coordination with the local government of Tabaco, for the Social Amelioration Program.) The DSWD Region V has yet to disclose the number of beneficiaries who received the cash subsidy. The DSWD has started SAP payouts in National Capital Region (NCR), Region I (Ilocos), Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Region III (Central Luzon), Region III (Central Luzon), Region IV-A or CALABARZON (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas,Rizal and Quezon), and Region IV-B or MIMAROPA (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan).