The government has allowed the full operation of financial service providers (FSPs) in areas under modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) to speed up the distribution of subsidies under the social amelioration program (SAP).
The Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases on Friday issued Resolution No. 61, which allows FSPs to run “at a full operational capacity.”
Employees of FSPs will be allowed full mobility, while beneficiaries will be allowed limited movement to receive the cash assistance.
The IATF said the easing of restrictions, requested by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), was approved to “ensure the uninterrupted distribution of social amelioration to the most vulnerable in areas under MECQ.”
The DSWD implemented a digital payout scheme for the distribution of the second tranche of SAP, which tapped FSPs GCash, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., Robinson’s Bank, PayMaya, Unionbank and Starpay.
As of Aug. 6, the DSWD has distributed the SAP second tranche to 72.4 percent of total beneficiaries, or more than P66 billion worth of cash aid to more than 10 million families. John Ezekiel J. Hirro