A recipient of the social amelioration program (SAP) subsidy receives his aid. | file photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — A total of around P2 billion worth of public funds were distributed to over 400,000 families in Cebu, who were qualified to receive the second tranche of the government’s emergency cash aid, officials here announced.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development in Central Visayas (DSWD- 7) reported having successfully distributed the second wave of the Social Amelioration Program (SAP) to 411,028 families as of October 7.
The amount, DSWD-7 said in a press release, amounted to a total of P2,466,168,000.
“The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office VII has already served 411,028 low-income families in Cebu for the second tranche of Social Amelioration Program (SAP). The total amount paid amounted to Php 2,466,168,000 as of October 7, 2020,” said DSWD-7.
The agency also reported that more than half of these beneficiaries received their subsidy through accredited payment centers.
“Out of the 411,028 SAP beneficiaries in Cebu, 336,416 beneficiaries were paid through partner Financial Service Providers (FSPs) like Starpay, RCBC, PayMaya, GCash, and Unionbank,” DSWD-7 said.
“DSWD has partnered with FSPs (financial service providers) to fast track the payment to areas which are not categorized as geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDA),” they added.
DSWD-7 Director Rebecca Geamala, meanwhile, asked those who had not received their SAP grants to have more patience because the government and their partner payment centers were continuing to validate information.
“We need to correct the information. Once finalized, our partner FSPs will inform our SAP beneficiaries,” said Geamala.
Cebu was among the few provinces chosen to continue to receive the second tranche of SAP, the national government’s emergency cash assistance program for the underprivileged who were adversely affected by the public health crisis.
Most of the families, who received SAP’s 2nd tranche, were those not included during the first wave of distribution, but due to their circumstances were, nevertheless, qualified to receive financial assistance.
DSWD-7 said a total of 89,669 waitlisted families in Cebu received a lump sum of P12,000 during the payout of the second tranche. They also reported a total of 20,209 waitlisted families in Bohol, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor who each received P6,000.00.
Families belonging in areas that remained under the stricter enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) were granted with higher amount than non-ECQ areas, DSWD-7 said./dbs
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