Año: LGUs to explain on failure to meet even 80% of SAP cash aid distribution

MANILA, Philippines — Local government officials (LGUs) who have failed to reach even 80 percent of social amelioration program (SAP) distribution in their respective areas after the May 10 deadline will be required to submit their explanations, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said Wednesday.

Año said the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) will be issuing show-cause orders (SCOs) against these LGUs who must then answer with their explanations risk facing sanctions.

“Sa buong Pilipinas naman masasabi natin almost kumpleto na rin at nasa 90 plus na rin yung compliance pero may mga hindi nakahabol ito ngayon yung papadalhan ng show cause orders. Kailangan magpaliwanag sila — ‘yung hindi nakaabot ng 80 percent man lang yung May 10 ng midnight,” Año said over dzMM when asked about updates of providing SCOs to LGUs.

(For the whole country, we can say that we are almost complete, almost 90 plus percent are compliant but there were some local government units that did not comply with the deadline which will be given SCOs. They need to explain — those that did not reach even at 80 percent on the May 10 deadline.)

As of Monday, May 11, the DILG said 77.42 percent or 1,265 LGUs out of 1,634 LGUs in the Philippines were able to complete the disbursement of the SAP cash aid to poor families with the May 10 deadline.

The DILG extended the deadline for the distribution of the SAP cash aid twice. First on May 7 and then on May 10. The original deadline for the LGUs to complete the cash aid distribution was on April 30.

Año added that LGUs that did not have problems in distributing the cash subsidy for their respective constituents must explain their failure to comply with the deadline.

“‘Dun sa mga lugar na wala namang balakid pero yung katabing lugar, kumpleto rin, mas madami pa na-distribute na beneficiary, there is something wrong. Kailangang magpaliwanag ka,” he said.

(For areas that did not have any hindrance but areas near them had completed the deadline and distributed cash aid to more beneficiaries, there is something wrong. They need to explain.)

Año did not mention the specific LGUs that failed to comply with the SAP cash aid distribution deadline. He, however, said some cities in Metro Manila namely Mandaluyong, Manila, Marikina, Parañaque, and Valenzuela were able to post a 100 percent completion of their SAP cash aid distributions.

/MUF