Palace sticks to DSWD’s word to finish SAP 2 release this month

Palace sticks to DSWD’s word to finish SAP 2 release this month By Azer Parrocha

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MANILA – Malacañang is holding on to the assurance made by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to finish the distribution of the second tranche of cash aid under the government’s social amelioration program (SAP) by the end of July.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque admitted that even Palace agrees that the DSWD’s distribution of 40

cash aid has been quite “slow” but will rely on the agency’s promise to finish by the end of the month.

“Mabagal po talaga, masasabi ko po na nabagalan din ang Palasyo sa proseso ng pangalawang tranche (It’s really slow, I can say that the Palace also finds the distribution of the second tranche slow),” he said in a virtual Palace briefing on Monday.

Currently, Roque said the department has already disbursed PHP20.1 billion emergency cash subsidies to 3.37 million beneficiaries for the second tranche. He is hopeful that the DSWD will be able to finish releasing the cash aid in the next two weeks.

“Ang sabi po ng DSWD hanggang katapusan lang po ng Hulyo and we will hold—the Palace will hold DSWD to that (The DSWD said that they will be distributing the cash aid until the end of July and we will hold the DSWD to that),” he said.

In a congressional hearing on Thursday, DSWD Undersecretary Danilo Pamonag said the agency is targeting to complete the distribution of the second tranche of cash aid by the end of July.

“I would like to inform this body that we hope to complete the payouts for (the) second tranche through a combination of digital and direct payouts by the end of July,” Pamonag told lawmakers.

He, however, noted that some payouts might extend to August due to mobility, security, and health factors that may hamper the distribution of the second tranche subsidy. Mobility and transportation, he said, are constraints in reaching geographically-isolated and disadvantaged areas.

“These are islands, municipalities, barangays, or upland areas, which might take more than a day or two to reach,” he said.

He emphasized that that delivering subsidies to conflict-affected areas or those with security threats may require systematic coordination and planning with the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police to ensure the safety of the SAP implementors.

Pamonag said another major factor is the public health threat posed by the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) to the DSWD social workers and personnel, as well as their clients.

The SAP allows the national government to distribute temporary cash assistance worth PHP5,000 to PHP8,000 to low-income families who have been most affected by the Covid-19 crisis.

About 18 million poor households have received the first tranche of emergency subsidies under the program.

Only 12 million of the 18 million beneficiaries of the first SAP aid will get the second tranche. They will be joined by five million waitlisted beneficiaries. (PNA)