MANILA – The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said 11.6 million families or about 64.5 percent of 18 million households targeted for the Social Amelioration Program (SAP) already received their cash aid from the government.
DSWD spokesperson Irene Dumlao shared in a media group on Sunday evening that the agency has disbursed some PHP62.8 billion of the PHP100 billion total fund from the Department of Budget and Management’s second tranche of SAP.
About PHP16.7 billion of this amount was directly released to the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries through their cash cards, Dumlao added.
As of May 2, she said 3,806,516 4Ps beneficiaries already received the cash assistance.
In DSWD National Capital Region’s (NCR) Facebook account, Marites Abrea from Barangay Fortune in Marikina City expressed her gratitude after claiming financial assistance.
“Sa tulong ng emergency subsidy ay maipambibili na niya ito ng mga pangangailangan gaya ng bigas at gamot na kinakailangan sa gitna ng enhanced community quarantine (Through the emergency subsidy, she can now afford to buy basic necessities like food and medicine amid the enhanced community quarantine),” the post said.
As of May 2, local government units have distributed PHP45.8 billion for non-4Ps beneficiaries.
About PHP323.3 million were also released to 40,418 Transport Network Vehicle Services and public utility vehicle drivers.
These drivers were affected by the mass suspension of transportation in NCR.
DSWD Secretary Rolando Bautista, in an earlier briefing in Congress, reported that the first tranche of the budget which was PHP100 billion was received on April 2, 2020, while the PHP96 billion fund for the second tranche arrived on April 17.
Some 10.1 million families who were given help to survive the crisis received the first tranche.
“85 percent of 4Ps have already received their allocation; 84 percent is allocated to 4Ps; 45 percent of target TNVS and PUV beneficiaries, and 47 percent of non-4Ps low-income families,” he said.
Bautista also added that a total of 1,228 LGUs were provided with SAP funds amounting to PHP65 billion; 49 percent of the second tranche or PHP96 billion was received by DSWD on April 17, and 289,000 beneficiaries received their stipend totaling PHP719 million.
Under Republic Act No. 11469 or the “Bayanihan to Heal As One Act”, 18 million low-income households are entitled to receive emergency subsidy ranging from PHP5,000 to PHP8,000 depending on the minimum wage level in a region for two months while the stay-at-home order is in effect.