More than 1.45 million families in Western Visayas have already benefited from the emergency cash assistance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office VI, through its Social Amelioration Program (SAP).
Regional Director Ma. Evelyn Macapobre said more than P8.2 billion cash aid has been provided by the agency, as of Tuesday, June 2.
They include the 1,131,817 non-conditional cash transfer beneficiaries or non-Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) members, who belong to low or no income families and informal sectors in WV.
Each family beneficiaries received P6,000 SAP assistance distributed through the 133 local government units (LGUs) in the region.
A total of P6,790,902,000 SAP assistance was provided for them, she said.
Aside from the non-CCT beneficiaries, a total of 321,096 Pantawid families have also received emergency subsidy from the agency.
The beneficiaries received P4,650 SAP assistance in addition to their P600 rice subsidy and P750 for health to complete the P6,000.
Macapobre said a total of P1,493,096,400 cash assistance was given by the agency.
The regional director also said the figure is still expected to increase as the agency waits for the submission of the final liquidation reports from the LGUs, which is necessary for the conduct of validation.
Out of the 133 LGUs, 94 have already submitted their liquidation reports.
Meanwhile, Macapobre called on to SAP beneficiaries who received duplicate assistance to refund their grant.
She pointed that SAP is not only provided by DSWD but also of other national government agencies (NGAs).
She further stressed that a family is only legible to receive one SAP assistance per agency.
In line with this, Macapobre called on to the families who belong to the following category to refund their SAP grant:
1) elected at appointed government officials,
2) personnel contracted in any NGA, Government Owned and Control Corporations, and LGUs;
3) employees in private sector;
4) retired individuals who are receiving pension;
5) families with independent financial capacity; and
6) 4Ps beneficiaries who have also received assistance from other NGAs such as Department of Agriculture, Department of Labor and Employment, and Social Security System.
She said that families who wish to refund their SAP shall coordinate with their city or municipal treasurer.
“Sa inyong pag-refund, kayo ay tumutulong na makatanggap din ang iba pang mga pamilya na hindi naabot ng tulong. Sama-sama po tayo sa pagbangon ng pamilyang Pilipino,” she said.
On the other hand, Macapobre commended the efforts of all LGUs in the region for their help in the distribution of SAP, especially the local social welfare and development officers and the barangay workers.
“We salute you for bravely toiling the fields to implement the social amelioration program (sap). Had it not been for your sacrifices, it would have been difficult for many to cope up with the global pandemic’s first four weeks here in Western Visayas,” Macapobre added.#dswdfo6