Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rolando Joselito Bautista said Tuesday the agency has so far distributed emergency cash subsidy to more than 6.5 million beneficiaries under the Social Amelioration Program (SAP).
As of July 28, the agency has given more than PHP42.8 billion of SAP funds for the second wave of SAP to beneficiaries in various regions.
Bautista, in a DSWD-hosted live conference on Facebook, said the agency continues to ramp up efforts to deliver assistance to Filipino families who were hardest hit by the public health crisis.
“Ginagawa po namin ang lahat upang makumpleto ang pamamahagi ng tulong sa katapusan ng Hulyo katulad ng aming pangako. Samantala, maaring umabot hanggang sa unang dalawang linggo ng Agosto ang pamamahagi para sa mga benepisyaryo na nakatira liblib na lugar o may sigalot (We are doing everything to complete the distribution by the end of July as we have promised. However, for conflict-affected and remote areas, the aid will reach them around the first or second week of August),” Bautista said.
Bautista provided a breakdown of the family beneficiaries who received the second batch of the government’s SAP aid.
As of July 28, those who received cash assistance include more than 1.3 million Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4P’s) beneficiaries; more than 3.2 million low-income non-4P’s low-income beneficiaries; more than 1.8 million low-income, non-4P’s and waitlisted beneficiaries; and more than 200,000 waitlisted family beneficiaries who were living in areas declared under enhanced community quarantine on May 30.
Meanwhile, Bautista noted that with the involvement of the financial service providers in the program, the beneficiaries are also introduced to digital transactions.
“Sa pamamagitan ng digital payouts ay hindi lamang natin inihahatid ang ayuda, tinuturuan din natin ang mga benepisyaryo na mag-impok at gumamit ng digital transactions. Ito ay umaayon sa ating layunin ng financial inclusivity and inclusive growth (Through digital payouts, we are not only giving out the aid, but we are also teaching the beneficiaries to save and learn digital transactions. This follows our vision of financial inclusivity and inclusive growth for the low-income families),” he said. (PNA)