The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is targeting to distribute the second tranche of cash aid under the government’s social amelioration program (SAP) starting this week, Secretary Rolando Bautista said.
“Ninanais ng DSWD na ipahatid ang second tranche ng SAP sa lalong madaling panahon, dahil batid ng ahensya ang pangangailangan ng ating mga kababayan na apektado ng krisis. Ninanais natin na masimulan ang pamamahagi ng ayuda sa linggong ito,” Bautista said in a virtual briefing Tuesday.
Palace spokesman Harry Roque in a separate briefing said the government was working on the logistics of the electronic transfer systems that would be used for faster SAP distribution.
“Konting antay na lang po. Alam ko po na hindi pa nagsisimula, pero kapag nagsimula po iyan, naku po, napakabilis naman po niyan dahil we will rely primarily on electronic transfers,” Roque said.
Roque also clarified that the SAP fund would be used up completely, according to law.
Bautista reported that the P99.7 billion of the first tranche of cash aid was distributed to over 17.6 million beneficiaries.
DSWD said the 17 million recipients of the second tranche of financial assistance would come from Metro Manila; Central Luzon except Aurora; Calabarzon; Bacolod, Zamboanga and Davao cities; and the provinces of Benguet, Pangasinan, Iloilo, Cebu and Albay.
Malacañang clarified that even though the rest of country had shifted to the less stringent general and modified general community quarantines, those placed under enhanced community quarantine in May would still receive cash aid this month. John Ezekiel J. Hirro