MikeLigalig.com

GENERAL SANTOS CITY – The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has transferred as of weekend over PHP2.8 billion to local government units (LGUs) in Region 12 (Soccsksargen) in line with the implementation of the Social Amelioration Program (SAP).

DSWD-Region 12 Director Cezario Joel Espejo said Monday the disbursed money represents some 80 percent of the PHP3.5 billion allotted for the region under the first wave of the emergency financial assistance program.

Espejo said the funds were wired directly to 45 of the 50 municipalities and cities in the region that already completed the requirements for its rollout.

“The payouts for the release of emergency assistance to qualified beneficiaries are ongoing,” he said in a statement.

DSWD-12 has targeted a total of 668,287 households in the region as beneficiaries of the PHP5,000 cash aid. The intended recipients are poor and marginalized families who were affected by the ongoing enhanced community quarantine in the wake of the 2019 coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak.

The agency earlier released some PHP3,650 each to around 246,000 beneficiaries in the region of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps, under the SAP.

Espejo said they expect to complete "in the next few days" the transfer of the funds and the release of the LGUs of the financial assistance to qualified recipients.

Once the payouts are complete, he said the agency will immediately start the preparations for the second wave, which will cover the month of May.

He assured that they have implemented measures to ensure that “only the rightful beneficiaries affected by the enhanced community quarantine” will receive the financial assistance.

The official said teams comprising of representatives from various national government agencies and LGUs have been deployed to monitor the distribution of the emergency subsidy.

Espejo bared the monitoring teams have already discovered a number of non-eligible recipients in the course of their validation.

“The names of the non-qualified residents were immediately removed from the payroll,” he said.

“This is a good indication that everybody is working to make sure that the assistance will go to rightful recipients,” he added.

The region's quarantine is set to end on April 30. (PNA

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