It was only last night when Jennifer Fernandez received her beneficiary reference number (BRN) for her second tranche of social amelioration program (SAP) from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

This morning, the 44-year old mother from Barangay Ticud, Lapaz, Iloilo City, immediately claimed her P6,000 SAP assistance thru digital payment.

Without hassle, Fernandez got her SAP assistance via M.Lhuiller, one of the digital payment centers of Starpay for the distribution of SAP.

Starpay, on the other hand, is one of the financial service providers of DSWD for its digital payouts.

Fernandez said the SAP distribution is just timely for her to buy her maintenance medicine for her diabetes.

“Madasig lang ang proseso. Gamiton ko ang akon SAP para makabakal sang akon bulong kag iban pa namun nga kinahangalanon. (The process is fast. I will use my SAP to buy my medicine and for other necessities,” Fernandez said.

Her family used to sell “ukay-ukay” or thrift clothes. However, because of the pandemic, their only source of income was halted.

To sustain their needs, her husband accepts carpentry work.

Fernandez is among the thousands of beneficiaries in the region that have received their cash assistance thru digital payout.

Based on the records of the DSWD Field Office VI, a total of 175,559 beneficiaries have received their SAP thru digital payments as of September 15. They include second tranche and waitlisted beneficiaries.

Regional Director Ma. Evelyn Macapobre said the agency is still conducting digital payout for the remaining SAP beneficiaries in the region.

To ensure the safety of the SAP beneficiaries, Macapobre said that proper physical distancing as well as other safety measures must be followed in the conduct of payouts.

Macapobre likewise reminded beneficiaries who are highly vulnerable, including the elderly, pregnant, senior citizens and persons with disabilities to just send their representatives in getting their SAP.#dswdfo6/kvb