TACLOBAN CITY – A total of 63,566 waitlisted families in Eastern Visayas have received the PHP5,000 cash assistance under the social amelioration program of the national government, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said on Friday.
The DSWD has already served 53,124 recipients through remittance centers and 10,442 through its direct payout, bringing the total fund released in the region to PHP317.83 million as of November 6.
These additional recipients are qualified poor families but did not receive the grant during the first tranche, said Joshua Kepmis, DSWD regional disaster response management division information officer.
“The payout is still ongoing. We have experienced delays in distribution since local government units have their own restrictions that we have to respect and follow. If there is a lockdown, then we also suspend our payout,” Kepmis said in a phone interview.
The regional office here started the direct payout to waitlisted families in July and implemented the digital payout through remittance centers in August to fast-track the distribution.
In the region, 129 out of 143 local government units (LGUs) have submitted their list of additional recipients, 38,420 were listed in Leyte, 16,393 in Samar, 14,652 in Northern Samar, 5,310 in Eastern Samar, 4,663 in Southern Leyte, and 1,565 in Biliran.
Under Republic Act 11469 or the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, financial support for two months would be granted to indigent families affected by the movement restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019.
However, Eastern Visayas is no longer included in the second tranche of the emergency cash subsidy due to its downgraded community quarantine status.
Kepmis said the field office here released a total of PHP2.75 billion during the first tranche of SAP.
“We have not set a deadline for the completion of payout to waitlisted families, but we have to complete it first before we implement the programs under Bayanihan 2,” he added.
Kepmis said beneficiaries of financial assistance under Republic Act 11494 or the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan 2) are low-income families affected by granular lockdowns and other qualified poor families who have not yet received the emergency cash subsidy. (PNA)
