More than 12 million families have already received their second tranche of cash assistance as part of the national government’s social amelioration program.
Department of Social and Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rolando Bautista confirmed in a virtual press conference that as of August 12, the agency has already given P74.2 billion worth of cash aid to 12,287,655 beneficiaries nationwide.
Among the 12.28 million SAP 2 recipients, about 1.3 million were part of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, 5.5 million were considered low-income and non-4Ps families, 3 million were waitlisted low-income and non-4Ps families, while about 1.3 million were waitlisted families in areas under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).
Bautista also added that the DSWD distributed a total of P857.3 million to 115,680 transport network vehicle services (TNVS) and public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers in the country. The beneficiaries were aligned on the list provided by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB)
Meanwhile, TNVS and PUV drivers who were not part of the said beneficiaries were directed to DSWD Field Offices to be included in the waiting list.
DSWD is planning to finish the digital and manual distribution of the second tranche of the cash assistance by the second week of August.
“Tuloy-tuloy lamang po ang pamamahagi ng DSWD ng ayuda sa lahat ng mga kwalipikadong benepisyaryo ng ikalawang bugso ng SAP. Sinisikap ng ahensya na maabot ang target natin na matapos ang lahat ng payout sa kalagitnaan ng ikalawang linggo ng Agosto,” Bautista said.
The DSWD chief also encouraged all beneficiaries to visit only the remittance centers on their scheduled payouts to prevent the mass gathering of people and further control the local transmission of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
“Pinapaalalahanan namin ang mga benepisyaryo na pumunta lamang sa payout center sa tinakdang schedule upang maiwasan ang umpukan sa isang lugar,” he said.
The DWSD has already teamed up with local government units for more security presence to observe minimum health standards and protocols at payout centers. RJ Espartinez