MANILA, Philippines — Nine out of 10 every beneficiary families have already received their cash assistance under the first tranche of the national government’s social amelioration program (SAP), according to the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said Monday that a total of 1,265 LGUs in the country have completed the distribution of the first tranche of SAP as of Sunday, the deadline set for LGUs to finish the distribution of the cash aid.
The 1,265 LGUs that met the deadline, however, only comprise 77.42 percent of all 1,634 LGUs in the country.
“That’s the percentage ‘pag LGU ang (if LGUs are the) [basis] but if you compute based on intended beneficiaries, the national payout rate is 90.86 percent. So 9 out of 10 family beneficiaries have received their assistance,” DILG Undersecretary and spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said in a text message to INQUIRER.net.
Año said the DILG will also start issuing show cause orders to LGUs that showed “very poor” performance in the distribution of the cash assistance.
He added that LGUs that were not able to meet the deadline can continue to distribute the cash aid to their constituents unless the Department of Social Welfare and Development demands the return of the funds.
According to Año, the top five performing regions in the SAP distribution are Caraga with 100 percent payout rate, Bicol Region with 99.96 percent, Soccsksargen with, 98.92 percent, Cordillera Administrative Region with 96.8 percent, and Zamboanga Peninsula with 96.47 percent.
He urged LGUs to immediately complete liquidation reports on the first tranche of the cash aid distribution.
“Your work, however, is not yet done. We still have the second tranche but I am certain that you will be more systematic, quicker, and more efficient this time because of the lessons that you have learned from the first,” he said in a statement, addressing the LGUs.
Meanwhile, Metro Manila recorded a payout rate of 85.13 percent. Among all LGUs in the capital region, Caloocan City recorded the highest payout rate at 99 percent.
“The DILG recognizes the difficulties faced by LGUs in Metro Manila because of the high population density in the capital region, which is also the epicenter of the Covid-19 crisis in the country,” said Malaya.
“Our LGUs are doing simultaneously their regular functions together with the implementation of the lockdown, maintaining peace and order, and also doing contact tracing, isolating, and managing COVID cases, so we know how hard it is for them,” he added.
Malaya then urged LGUs in Metro Manila to immediately complete the distribution since their constituents urgently need the emergency cash aid.
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