DILG Secretary Eduardo Año. FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Tuesday ordered local government units to submit until May 21 the names of families who will receive the second tranche of cash aid from the social amelioration program (SAP).
“Huwag po kayong mag-alala, tutulungan po kayo ng ating pamahalaan [Do not worry, the government will help you]. We are giving the LGUs three (3) days to submit their initial list to us in DILG and to the DSWD, which in turn will validate that list,” Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said in a statement.
Año said the list must include low-income families who were “left-out” or did not receive cash assistance from the first tranche of SAP which includes some 18 million low-income households.
Año noted that the initial list of second tranche recipients must be submitted by barangays “regardless of the length of stay in the locality and voter’s registration of the members of the household.”
Año, however, said the list from LGUs for the second tranche of SAP will still be validated by the DSWD.
To recall, President Rodrigo Duterte approved the inclusion of additional five million low-income households to the recipients of the government’s SAP as the COVID-19 crisis continues to take effect.
This is apart from the 18 million poor families who received a monthly cash aid of P5,000 to P8,000 for two months under the Bayanihan To Heal as One Act.