SAP 2 payouts 72.4% complete: DSWD

FILE: DSWD Eastern Visayas Patuloy sa Pamimigay ng Waitlisted Emergency Subsidy (Photo: DSWD Eastern Visayas/Facebook)

MANILA – The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said Thursday it remains hopeful to reach all target beneficiaries of the Social Amelioration Program (SAP 2) by mid-August after it reported that they already completed 72.4 percent of the payouts.

In a press briefing, DSWD Undersecretary Rene Glen Paje announced that as of August 6, the agency delivered some PHP66,376,956,700 worth of financial aid to 10,223,307 family beneficiaries.

Paje also provided a breakdown of the beneficiaries who have already received their payouts.

It included more than 1.3 million Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries; 5.2 million non-4Ps beneficiaries; almost one million waitlisted beneficiaries in areas declared under the enhanced community quarantine from May 1 to May 15; and 2.6 million waitlisted and non-4Ps beneficiaries from other parts of the country.

“Tuloy-tuloy po ang pamamahagi ng DSWD ng ayuda sa lahat ng kwalipikadong beneficiaries. Patuloy na nagsisikap ang mga kawani upang matapos ang payouts sa kalagitnaan ng buwang kasalukuyan (The DSWD continues to implement the SAP aid to qualified beneficiaries. We are doing our best to complete it as promised by mid-August),” Paje reiterated during the briefer, as the agency continued to ask for public trust and understanding.

Paje, meanwhile, explained that the new total of target beneficiaries for the second tranche of emergency subsidy was cut down to only 14.1 million beneficiaries due to results found during their tedious validation process.

Paje cited these reasons: LGUs have only submitted 3.2 million candidates for the aid while it was earlier declared they can submit up to 5 million beneficiaries to apply; it was found out that 675,933 recipients of the previous tranche also got cash aid from other government agencies who were providing financial support during the pandemic; 239,859 beneficiaries turned out as ineligible to receive the grant, and 58,725 families have voluntarily returned their cash aid.

The 14.1 million family beneficiaries include the more than 1.3 million 4P’s families, 7.2 million non-4P’s families, 2.1 million waitlisted families from areas under ECQ on May 1 to May 15, and 3.2 million waitlisted families from the rest of the country.