KORONADAL CITY – The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD FO XII) has disbursed 100 percent of its total allocation intended for the Social Amelioration Program (SAP) in Region 12, the head of the agency said Saturday.
Cezario Joel Espejo, DSWD-12 regional director, said the SAP funds have been disbursed by local government units (LGUs) to families severely affected by the lockdown imposed by the government to cut the transmission of Coronavirus.
Citing latest data from the region’s daily report, Dir. Espejo noted the funding benefited poor and qualified families across the region for SAP, a program where the agency is at the forefront to support authorities’ hard-line measures to contain the spread of COVID-19.
“We are wrapping up the distribution and waiting for the liquidation requirements from our partner LGUs. As of now, we are waiting for directive from our central office whether we will have a second tranche of the aid,” Dir. Espejo said.
“The agency specifically thanks our partners from the military, police, LGUs, Department of Interior and Local Government, Bureau of Fire Protection, as well our village officials and volunteers,” he added.
Since the implementation of the government’s emergency subsidy allowance last month, 40 of 50 LGUs have submitted their SAP liquidation report.
Under DSWD guidelines, the LGUs are required to submit the liquidation and financial reporting documents, including the list of encoded SAP beneficiaries, to the DSWD within 15 days from the completion of the distribution.
President Rodrigo Duterte has approved 200 billion pesos the largest economic aid package in the country’s history to assist informal sector workers and people whose income have dried up amid a health crisis that has virtually shut down the country.
The package, under Bayanihan to Heal as One Act (RA 11469) that he signed on March 25, 2020, was aimed at workers in the informal sector, those who live below subsistence levels and those in “no work, no pay” occupations. (JBM / DSWD)