Absence of beneficiary list from DSWD hinders Pasig cash aid distribution

Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto. INQUIRER file photo / NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

MANILA, Philippines — Pasig City has yet to distribute the national government’s cash subsidy for around 93,000 families in the city since the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has yet to release to the local government unit (LGU) its validated list of recipients for the social amelioration program (SAP).

Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto said Wednesday that the P700-million fund for the program has been turned over to the city government but has yet to be distributed to residents pending the release of the validated list from the DSWD.

“‘Yung final list na validated ng DSWD na 93,000 hindi pa po namin natatanggap sa ngayon. As soon as matanggap po namin ‘yung listahan na ‘yun, pwede na kami magsimula sa disitribution,” he said in an interview with dzMM.

(The final list validated by the DSWD containing the names of 93,000 families has yet to be given to us. As soon as we receive that list, we can start the distribution.)

Once the list has been handed out to the LGU, the distribution of cash assistance to families may take seven days, according to Sotto.

Pasig City also plans to hand out a one-time P8,000 cash assistance to around 150,000 families not covered by the national government’s SAP. He said this process will take one to two weeks.

The cash assistance aims to help Pasig City residents cope up with the crisis caused by the coronavirus disease pandemic, which also triggered the imposition of the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine until April 30.

Sotto said the city council will hold a special session on Thursday to discuss the guidelines of the city’s own version of cash assistance for its residents.

Edited by JPV