1,270 LGUs complete SAP liquidation reports — DSWD

MANILA, Philippines – The number of local government units (LGUs) which finished submitting liquidation reports for the social amelioration program (SAP) due to COVID-19 is now at 1,270, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said.

DSWD Spokesperson Irene Dumlao told reporters on Friday that field offices are already checking if the liquidation reports are eligible.  This would then be forwarded to the department’s central office for checking if there are entries that received multiple social aids from the government.

Aside from DSWD, other government agencies like the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Department of Agriculture (DA), and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) also offered various financial assistance and programs for people within their agencies’ scope.

“Field offices that have received a list of (beneficiaries) are already conducting eligibility check,” Dumlao said.  “What we will conduct here at the CO is deduplication. We name match benes to database of DOLE, LTRFRB, DA, and SBWS (Small Business Wage Subsidies) to see if there have been any cases of duplication.”

The social amelioration program was mandated by Republic Act No. 11469 or the Bayanihan to Heal As One Act to aid 18 million Filipinos who were gravely affected by the lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

After Luzon and other areas were placed under an enhanced community quarantine to prevent local coronavirus transmissions, work except for essential frontline services was suspended.

However, this measure has placed the jobs of daily wage earners, from those in the transportation sector to informal economies and other small businesses at risk.  Most workers who cannot adjust to a work-from-home or telecommuting scheme were left without income through the lockdown.

As of now, DSWD says that they have already distributed P98.4 billion to LGUs for the SAP, while aid has reached 17.4 million families or 97.1 percent of the target number.

Of the P98.4 billion, P18.3 billion was directly given to Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries, P79.7 billion intended for non-4P members, and P496.2 million for public vehicle drivers.

However, a recent survey from Social Weather Station raised questions about whether government aid is not enough, as involuntary hunger rates almost doubled after COVID-19 crisis.  According to SWS, 99 percent of the respondents said that they received some form of food aid from both the national and local governments.