DSWD rolls out aid to families in areas under granular lockdown

“Qualified beneficiaries of Bayanihan 2 received the Emergency Subsidy Program (ESP) amounting to PHP8,000, which will only be received once,” DSWD-NCR Director Vic Tomas said in a Facebook post. (Photo courtesy of DSWD-NCR via PNA)

MANILA – The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Tuesday said it already started the release of financial assistance under the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act or Bayanihan 2 to low-income families in areas affected by Covid-19 granular lockdowns.

DSWD-National Capital Region facilitated the distribution of the cash aid to beneficiaries in San Juan City, Metro Manila.

“Qualified beneficiaries of Bayanihan 2 received the Emergency Subsidy Program (ESP) amounting to PHP8,000, which will only be received once,” DSWD-NCR Director Vic Tomas said in a Facebook post.

DSWD, through its 15-page memorandum circular, explained that low-income families in areas placed under granular lockdown on Sept. 13 will receive PHP5,000 to PHP8,000 cash aid.

The document provided the guidelines on the implementation of the Bayanihan 2 ESP as well as the agency’s Covid-19 response and recovery intervention programs.

The agency received PHP6 billion under the Bayanihan 2, which took effect on Sept. 13, to finance its programs.

DSWD Secretary Rolando Bautista previously clarified that Republic Act No. 11494 or Bayanihan 2 is “not to be interpreted as the third tranche of their Social Amelioration Program (SAP) or successor of SAP 1 and 2”.

SAP 1 and 2 are under the already-lapsed RA No. 11469 or the Bayanihan to Heal As One Act, “or the continuation” of the Bayanihan 1.

The second tranche of SAP is still being distributed due to some “mismatch in information provided by the beneficiaries when they filled up their Social Amelioration Card forms”, DSWD Undersecretary Glen Paje explained in earlier press briefers.

Meanwhile, the DSWD guideline said the target beneficiaries of the ESP under Bayanihan 2 are those affected low-income families in areas under granular lockdown; those qualified families, but were not granted SAP 1 and 2 subsidies under RA No. 11469; OFW returnees who belong to a low-income family and are presently residing in an area under granular lockdown.

It also mentioned that the final certified list of beneficiaries used in the implementation of the ESP of the DSWD shall be the primary reference of the eligible beneficiaries.