14.2-M beneficiaries get SAP 2 aid: DSWD

FILE: Personnel from the Parañaque City government distribute cash aid as part of the Social Amelioration Program to around 859 beneficiaries at the Tambo Elementary School on Monday (May 4, 2020). (PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan)

MANILA – Around 14.2 million poor families have so far benefited from the second wave of the government’s social amelioration program (SAP) amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said on Monday.

In an update, the agency said it has released PHP85.1 billion worth of the emergency subsidy to 14,289,997 families as of 8 p.m. of Dec. 3.

Addressing inquiries of other family beneficiaries who are yet to receive their financial assistance, DSWD spokesperson Irene Dumlao told the Philippine News Agency that the funds are already taken care of by the beneficiaries’ respective financial service provider (FSP).

“Nasa payroll na sila (Their names are already in the payroll),” she said in a Viber message.

DSWD Undersecretary Rene Glen Paje, in a virtual press briefing, explained the delay was due to them having to re-process some of the social amelioration card (SAC) forms upon the FSPs report that there are mismatches in the personal information provided by the beneficiaries themselves.

This exceeded the agency’s 14.1 million families as the target number of beneficiaries for SAP 2.

Paje earlier said from the original target of 17 million families, the figure was trimmed to 14.1 million families after taking into account those that were found as duplicates or beneficiaries of other cash aid programs of the government, those that turned out to be unqualified to receive the subsidy, and those who voluntarily returned their cash aid.

Paje has explained the agency’s data showed that as of July 26, there were 675,933 duplicates; 239,859 ineligible, and 58,725 who returned their cash aid.

The first tranche of SAP (SAP 1) was targeted to be provided to some 18 million households nationwide including the 4.4 million households who are existing beneficiaries of the Expanded Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) who will receive top-up assistance from their existing payouts to complete the PHP5,000-PHP8,000 during the enhanced community quarantine period.

Non-4Ps beneficiaries of the SAP will receive the full PHP5,000-PHP8,000 grant depending on the area of residence.

The DSWD reported the completion of SAP 1 from mid-July to August.

The combined released amount for the SAP is sourced from the pooled savings from discontinued unreleased appropriations consistent with Section 4 of the Bayanihan to Heal As One Act (Bayanihan 1), as well as from DSWD’s regular appropriations under the FY 2020 General Appropriations Act (GAA) and its continuing appropriations under the FY 2019 GAA.