ILOILO City – Public health must not be compromised when local government units (LGUs) release cash assistance to beneficiaries of the national government’s Social Amelioration Program (SAP), stressed Assistant Secretary Rhea Peñaflor of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
To avoid mass gatherings, the cash assistance should ideally be delivered door-to-door as this is the safest scheme, she stressed.
In case a door-to-door payout is not possible, LGUs may gather beneficiaries in small groups so that social distancing could be properly observed, said Peñaflor.
Beneficiaries must also wear facemasks and LGUs must make available disinfectant or soap and water for hand-washing, she added.
Each qualified family is entitled to P6,000 cash assistance.
As of April 17, 131 out of 133 LGUs in Region 6 already received SAP funds from DSWD.
Additional LGUs that were downloaded the funds were Lezo, Ibajay, Nabas, Malinao, Madalag, Banga, Libacao, New Washington, Altavas, Kalibo, Batan, Numancia, and Malay in Aklan province; Pontevedra, Jamindan, Sigma, Sapian, Panit-an, President Roxas, Ivisan, Cuartero, Pilar, Maayon, Dumalag, and Dao in Capiz; Nueva Valencia in Guimaras; and Carles and Pavia in Iloilo.
As of Friday last week, the SAP funds released to Region 6 LGUs already reached P6.8 billion – Negros Occidental, P2,817,696,000; Iloilo, P2,339,028,000; Capiz, P787,350,000; Antique, 375,636,000; Aklan, P390,336,000; and Guimaras, P107,256,000.
Peñaflor also announced that barangay tanods, barangay health workers and daycare workers were also qualified to receive SAP cash assistance “provided may low income sila, wala iban nga source of income, sila nagatagayud sang ila family, kag wala sang ginabaton nga ayuda halin sa gobyerno.”/PN
