Beneficiaries of first tranche of gov’t cash aid to still receive another in May

MANILA, Philippines — Beneficiaries who received cash subsidy in the first tranche of the social amelioration program (SAP) will still receive aid in the second tranche in May, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said Monday.

“Sa ngayon, batay sa umiiral na panuntunan kung sino ang mga makakatanggap, kung sino ang nakatanggap noong first tranche ay sila din ang mga benepisyaryo para sa buwan ng Mayo,” DSWD Secretary Rolando Bautista said in an online briefing.

(Right now, based on the guidelines on who will receive aid, whoever received cash subsidy in the first tranche are the same beneficiaries for the month of May.)

The government has set aside about P200 billion for two-month cash subsidies for 18 million low-income households to help them cope with the effects of the strict quarantine measures in place.

The beneficiaries receive subsidies that range from P5,000 to P8,000 per household, depending on the minimum wage rates in their respective regions.

Bautista said the distribution of the second tranche, however, will be based on how fast the local governments will liquidate the cash subsidy distributed for the month of April.

“Dalawang buwan ipapatupad ang SAP. Kaya lamang, ang pamamahagi ng social amelioration cash subsidy sa Mayo ay depende sa bilis ng ating mga lokal na pamahalaan na magliquidate ng unang tranche,” Bautista said.

(The SAP will be implemented for two months. However, the distribution of the social amelioration cash subsidy for May depends on how fast the local governments will liquidate the first tranche.)

Bautista added that a technical working group on SAP is working on proposals for the implementation of SAP’s second tranche based on President Rodrigo Duterte’s recent pronouncements on quarantine measures.

“Ito ang magiging basehan namin sa paggawa ng guidelines para sa implementasyon ng SAP for the second tranche. Kailangan kasi namin ng approval ng IATF (Interagency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases) dahil doon maga-anchor yung guidelines na gagawin namin,” he explained.

(This will be the basis in crafting guidelines for the implementation of SAP for the second tranche. We need approval from the IATF because that is where the guidelines we are crafting will be anchored.)

“Sinisiguro namin ang guidelines na ito ay aligned at consistent sa isinasaad ng Republic Act 11469 (Bayanihan to Heal as One Act),” he added.

(We are making sure these guidelines are aligned and consistent to what Republic Act 11649 says.)

The Philippine government has extended the enhanced community quarantine in Metro Manila and several “high-risk” provinces until May 15 to contain the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Other areas that are not included in the lockdown extension will be placed under a general community quarantine starting May 1 where some restrictions will be relaxed.

As of Sunday, there are 7,579 COVID-19 cases nationwide, with 501 fatalities and 862 recoveries.

EDV