MANILA – With the validated list of poor Filipino families in need of assistance at this time of the pandemic, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rolando Bautista said on Tuesday they can now distribute aid “more efficiently.”
“May Listahan na tayo ng mga benepisyaro ng SAP na sumailalim sa balidasyon, natitiyak na mas mabilis na ang pagbabahagi ng ayuda. Ang pagkakaroon ng komprehensibo at updated na database ay nakakasiguro sa tamang pagtukoy ng mga tatanggap ng ayuda (We can guarantee that delivery of goods will be sent faster as we already have a validated list of SAP beneficiaries. Having a comprehensive and updated database is a confident indication that we will identify correctly those who need the aid),” Bautista said during the uSAP Tayo conference.
Bautista made the announcement after President Rodrigo Duterte signed the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act into law last Friday, which provides a PHP165.5-billion fund to finance the country’s response and recovery efforts to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.
To date, the agency has distributed the social amelioration program (SAP) assistance to some 13.8 million family beneficiaries worth PHP82.7 billion.
Bautista also said there will be no difference with the allocation of aid for the Bayanihan 2 except for the improvements they made in their system while learning the nitty-gritty of the Covid-19 emergency cash aid.
“Tulad ng Bayanihan 1, layunin ng Bayanihan 2 upang mabasawan ang epekto ng Covid19 sa socioeconomic well-being ng mga Filipino na apektado ng crisis (Like Bayahihan 1, the second installment aims to reduce the effects of Covid19 in the socioeconomic well-being of the Filipinos),” he added.
The agency is currently meeting with partner agencies to discuss the amendments in delivering the aid.