Around P29 million worth of cash assistance under the social amelioration program (SAP) has been returned by some 3,000 residents to the Quezon City government as of Wednesday.
While some said they already received financial aid from other national agencies, such as the Social Security System and the Department of Labor and Employment, others chose not to accept the cash assistance of P8,000 so that it could go to the less fortunate, the city government said.
In Barangay Holy Spirit, for instance, 65 individuals have given up their share under the program, amounting to P513,000.
Village chair Felicito Valmocina in a Facebook post said that 344 residents had also returned their “good as cash” social amelioration forms, or a total of P2.7 million, because they already received assistance from other government agencies. Valmocina said the cash and forms sent back to them would be turned over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
The city government said it would reallocate the P29 million to residents not included in the first batch of the program.