Soccsksargen, Navotas return P14.9M worth of SAP assistance — DILG

MANILA, Philippines — A total of P14.9 million worth of emergency cash assistance under the national government’s social amelioration program (SAP) has been returned by the Soccsksargen region and Navotas City, according to the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Monday.

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said based on reports received by the DILG Central Office, a total of P10,305,000 in SAP financial assistance in Soccsksargen and P4.6 million in Navotas had been returned or waived by some of its qualified SAP beneficiaries.

“Kahanga-hanga talaga ito. Mga mahihirap na tumulong sa kapwa mahihirap. Mas makahulugan ang pagtulong dahil kahit salat rin sila sa buhay ay inisip pa nila ang iba na nasa mas abang kalagayan,” he said in a statement.

(This is really praiseworthy. They are poor people who want to help their fellow poor citizens. Their help means more because even if they are trying to make ends meet, they still thought of others who are in worse condition.)

He said this selflessness shown by some residents in Soccsksargen and Navotas shows the true character of Filipinos during a crisis.

As of Saturday, 66.79 percent of target beneficiaries in Soccsksargen have received assistance from SAP, with local government units there posing 90 to 100 percent distribution rate, according to Jonathan Malaya, DILG spokesperson and Undersecretary for Plans, Public Affairs, and Communication.

“I am sure that at the rate they are going, they will be able to meet the DILG deadline,” he also said.

Malaya earlier warned local government officials would no longer be given an extension after the May 7 deadline to distribute cash assistance to 18 million poor and low-income families under the social amelioration program.

“The payouts in the region are currently ongoing and we hope that the LGUs will be able to complete the distribution so they can already liquidate their pay-outs in preparation for the second tranche of SAP assistance for the poor,” he added.

Under SAP, 18 million low-income families will be provided with P5,000 to P8,000 subsidy computed based on the prevailing regional minimum wage rates and existing subsidy programs of the local and national governments.

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