Pasig City secures P1-B aid for families left out in SAP

MANILA, Philippines — The Pasig City government has secured more than P1 billion in aid for families reeling from the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic—the largest financial assistance package to be offered by a local government unit (LGU) thus far.

Mayor Vico Sotto said on Wednesday that the funding was enough to provide P8,000 per family, half the amount to be distributed by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) under its Social Amelioration Program (SAP).

The P16,000 relief package under SAP would cover only 93,000 families in Pasig, however, compared to 206,000 families on the original list the city had submitted to the DSWD.

In a livestream on Sunday, Sotto promised the city would close the gap through its Pasig Supplemental SAP, though officials were still scrambling to figure out how to source it. In a radio interview on Wednesday, though, he said over P1 billion was identified in the city’s trust fund.

“We will pass a supplemental budget and withdraw from the trust fund of Pasig,” Sotto said. “And there are some small projects we will cancel first or delay.”

He did not say how many families would be covered by the P1 billion fund but any resident would be eligible.

“We will open this assistance to all. But we enjoin those who are better off to decline the aid or choose to donate it,” he added.

Pasig has provided some of the most generous relief for those hit by the economic meltdown resulting from the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine.

More than P55 million was allotted by the city to provide P3,000 to all of its displaced public-utility vehicle drivers, while food coupons have been distributed to students.