MANILA, Philippines — The government had already distributed more than P335.8 million in cash aid to 58,150 low-income families across the country as part of its social amelioration program during the enhanced community quarantine, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said on Sunday.
Social Welfare Secretary Rolando Bautista said the families were not among the beneficiaries enrolled under the government’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).
DSWD has also distributed subsidies amounting to P16.3 billion to over 3.7 million 4Ps beneficiaries, who were also included in the 18 million families identified by the government as among those eligible for aid under the Bayanihan Heal as One Act.
While the payout is already underway with the assistance of local government units, Bautista said there were still challenges in distribution, particularly for remote and hard-to-access areas in the country.
“The situations in each region are not the same,” he said in a radio interview. “Some target beneficiaries are in geographically challenged areas, like island barangays and municipalities.”
“I hope that the public will understand the government, because this situation is really sudden,” Bautista said after the social amelioration program was plagued by issues in its first few days, most notably the number of beneficiaries who will receive aid.
Under the national government’s program, low-income families deemed eligible for the subsidy will receive P5,000 to P8,000 each, depending on where they reside.