More than 40,000 QC folk finally get cash aid

MANILA, Philippines — More than 40,000 Social Amelioration Program (SAP) beneficiaries from Quezon City are set to receive via manual payout the second tranche of the financial aid in the next two weeks. According to the city government, a total of 40,699 “unserved beneficiaries” will receive the emergency subsidy at the Quezon City Memorial Circle covered court. The payout started on Tuesday, with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) leading the distribution. The local government is providing assistance to the agency. The manual payout in Quezon City comes months after the second tranche of the financial aid was first released through partner financial service providers. The agency terminated its deal with the service providers in April 2021 and chose to manually disburse financial aid to beneficiaries who have yet to receive the SAP. Many beneficiaries, according to Mayor Joy Belmonte, encountered problems with claiming financial aid through electronic wallets as they did not have internet access or did not have smartphones. —NIKKA G. VALENZUELA