By Jhon Aldrin Casinas Pasig City families that were not included in the list of recipients of the Social Amelioration Program of the national government will receive cash assistance from the local government. Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto
(KEVIN TRISTAN ESPIRITU / MANILA BULLETIN) Mayor Vico Sotto announced on Sunday the “Pasig Supplemental Social Amelioration Program (PSSAP)” which will shoulder the financial aid for families that were not on the list of beneficiaries approved by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). “Lahat po ng nangangailangan na wala sa listahan ng DSWD, sasaluhin ng Lokal na Pamahalaan ng Pasig (All of those in need that were not included in the list of the DSWD, will be shouldered by the Local Government of Pasig),” Sotto said in a Facebook Live.

Out of more than 200,000 families that the Pasig City government has identified, Sotto bared that only over 93,000 have been approved by the DSWD to receive the aid from the national government.

In a tweet, Sotto said that the SAP of the national government will be a great help for its beneficiaries. But in reality, he noted that many of those in need were not in the list of recipients. Under the national government’s assistance program, low-income households affected by the enhanced community quarantine due to the coronavirus outbreak will each receive P5,000 to P8,000 financial assistance for two months. In total, each family will receive P16,000. Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles recently said that President Duterte has tasked the DSWD to lead the distribution of assistance to prevent politicians from playing favorites among their constituents. In a recent televised interview, Sotto agreed with the President, saying that DSWD should lead the distribution of food and financial assistance to avoid political patronage. He explained that if the assistance will go through the local government units (LGUs), “there will be politics or accusations of patronage.” Out of more than 200,000 families that the Pasig City government has identified, Sotto bared that only over 93,000 have been approved to receive the aid from the national government. The local chief executive said that they are eyeing to distribute P8,000 to each family. But he stressed that the amount is not yet final for it still needs the approval of the City Council, and if the budget of the local government will be enough. “Nung inaaral ko yung cash position natin nung isang araw, nakita ko po na kaya natin yung 8,000 (When I was examining our cash position recently, I saw that we could afford the P8,000),” Sotto said. However, he explained that the city government will have put some of its pending projects on hold in order to fund the city’s financial aid program. “Wala tayong choice dahil ayaw po nating magutom yung mga kabayan natin (We have no choice because we don’t want our fellowmen to go hungry),” Sotto said. “Hindi ganoon kadali yung sitwasyon natin lalo na yung mga nawalan ng trabaho, yung mga hindi nakakapagtrabaho sa ngayon (Our situation right now is not that easy, especially those who lost their jobs and could not work right now.) “Pero alam naman natin kung bakit natin kailangan ng ganito eh, buhay ang pinaguusapan natin eh (But we know the reason why we need this, we are talking about life),” he added.