2-year-old girl in Cebu City a SAP beneficiary?

Her parents, on the other hand, were not on the list

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The parents of a 2-year-old girl in Barangay Apas here were surprised to find out that their daughter is a beneficiary of the Special Amelioration Program (SAP) of the Department of Social Welfare and Services (DSWD).

The parents, on the other hand, were not on the list of beneficiaries.

Darcy Ablong said that they were asked to submit a copy of the SAP form to the barangay in the past weeks, and they complied in the hopes that they would be approved for the P6,000 SAP.

The SAP is a financial aid to low income and poor families to help them get through the quarantine period.

“Nahibulong ko ngano naa siya sa lista nga ila gibasehan 2015 man nga lista, nya 2018 man ni naanak. Siya naapil, ako wala,” said Darcy.

(I was surprised to see my daughter listed in the SAP because they said they based the beneficiaries from the 2015 list, but she was born in 2018. She was included, I was not.)

The father said there was no other person in the sitio (sub-village) who had the same name with his daughter. At least 155 individuals from the sitio were listed as beneficiaries.

Cebu City’s Department of Social Welfare and Services head, Doctor Jeffrey Ybones, said a mistake during the filing of the form may have caused this error.

A 2-year-old could not have signed or filled-up a SAP form nor could she have been identified as the head of the family, which means it would be impossible for her to be the beneficiary.

Ybones said this is why the barangays are urged to post the list online so  residents can peruse the list and call out any mistake or suspicious add-ons on the list.

DSWD personnel are on stand-by in the barangays to help in the SAP implementation. All beneficiaries are checked prior to approval.

Finally, all barangays have to submit their beneficiaries to the DSWS, and Ybones said they have not yet received a SAP form with the name of a two-year-old as the head of the family.

He assured the public that these forms would be thoroughly checked by DSWD before approval.

Meanwhile, Darcy hopes that the government would provide clearer guidelines for the public so the public would know whether they are qualified or not.

Now that the barangay has found out that his daughter’s name was placed instead of his, the dilemma comes on whether the family would receive the SAP or not.

“Lisod kaayo kay no work no pay ta nya karon di na ta kadawat kay naa lagi tay employer,” said Darcy.

(It is difficult that I am a no-work-no-pay worker, and now we may not receive aid because I have an employer.)

He said they were still asked to sign a SAP form despite the confusion but were told that they may be disapproved.

He said he was disqualified by DSWD because he had an employer, although he did not reveal where he worked. He said the DSWD advised him to wait for the financial aid from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) instead. /bmjo