KORONADAL CITY – The Department of Social Welfare and Development Field Office 12 (DSWD FO-12) has distributed the cash aid to more than 46 thousand waitlisted recipients of the Social Amelioration Program (SAP) through digital payment centers across the region.

Citing the latest figures, Cezario Joel Espejo, DSWD-12 regional director, reported Monday around P 233,055,000 were disbursed by partner payment firms to 46,611 of the 89,868 target recipients since last week.

The agency earlier tapped financial service providers (FSP) such as Western Union, Cebuana, and M- Lhuillier financial service providers to hasten the payment of cash assistance for thousands of qualified clients in the region’s Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas.

“The distribution continues to those who have not yet received their assistance from the government,” Dir. Espejo said as he noted workers have been deployed to assist the beneficiaries and to address issues during the actual payouts.

“We appreciate the efforts of our partners for working with us on the ground,” he added.

The measure to speed up the distribution of cash aid came after the DSWD Central Office signed a memorandum of agreement with the FSPs and the Land Bank of the Philippines.

Under the agreement, the Land Bank will serve as the “main depository bank” and will download funds to identified FSPs.  The Land Bank will transfer the fund into the FSPs funding accounts or in other financial institutions based on the instruction and payroll documents provided by the DSWD.

Qualified recipients with mobile numbers in their SAP forms are expected to receive messages either from the three payout centers to claim their subsidy. The local government units, on the other hand, will post in respective municipal and barangay level the lists of beneficiaries and the financial service providers where they can get their assistance.  (JBM / DSWD)