ILOILO City – The national government’s P6,000 Social Amelioration Package (SAP) in this time of public health emergency due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is only for the “poorest of the poor”, clarified Department of Interior and Local Government’s (DILG) Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya.
Who are the “poorest of the poor”?
They are the low income families, those in the informal sector and those living below the poverty threshold, said Malaya.
In a teleconference with the Western Visayas media on April 7, Malaya said DILG and the Department of Social Welfare and Development Office (DSWD) were making this clarification to avoid confusion, citing feedbacks from local government units (LGUs).
“Bawat tao ay mahalaga but we need to prioritize,” stressed Malaya. “Hindi po pwede ang
argumento na ‘kami ay taxpayers, kailangan tumulong ang gobyerno, mahirap man o mayaman’. Hindi po ganun ang buhay.”
For his part, DSWD spokesperson Director Irene Dumlao said persons living below the poverty line are those working but receiving compensation below the minimum wage.
In Region 6, she said, if a person such as the head of the family receives a daily wage of P390, his family is qualified to receive the P6,000 SAP.
The minimum daily wage in Region 6 is P395.
“Inuulit po natin: ang benepisaryo ng cash grant po ay ‘yung mga pamilya na kasama or
kabilang sa low income, may family members na kabilang sa informal economy sector and may
member po na kabilang vulnerable sectors,” said Dumlao.
DSWD previously identified these vulnerable sectors:
* senior citizens
* persons with disability
* pregnant women
* lactating mothers
* solo parent
* overseas Filipino worker in distress
* indigent
* homeless
* informal workers
* occasional workers like househelpers,
drivers of pedicabs, tricycles, taxis, public utility buses, and public
utility jeepneys
* micro-entrepreneurs
* sub-minimum wage earners
* farmers, fishermen (provided they are
not recipients of assistance from the Department of Agriculture
* workers in the private sector observing “no work, no pay” family (provided they have not availed themselves of the COVID-19 Adjustment Measures Program of the Department of Labor
and Employment)
Malaya urged LGUs to start distributing registration forms to target beneficiaries so these could immediately be submitted to the DSWD for the eventual release of the social amelioration.
Beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) are covered by the SAP, Malaya added, but they need not fill up registration forms because they were already in the DSWD database.
To avoid duplication of beneficiaries, there will be cross-matching, added Malaya.
The first batch to receive the SAP in Region 6 covers 311,687 households.
The remaining more or less 1.5 million target beneficiaries in the region would receive theirs before the end of the quarantine period (April 14 unless lifted earlier or extended)./PN
By the time the social amelioration is released(or stolen) the people that are supposed to get it will probably be dead. This is the typical RED TAPE of our government, add more forms so that the opportunity for LAGAY or POCKETING will rear it’s ugly head again as usual!