THE Amihan National Federation of Peasant Women (Amihan) lambasted the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) over P780 million unutilized Social Amelioration Program (SAP) or "ayuda" funds.

The appropriations were supposed to benefit poor peasant families ang marginalized sectors affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown, Amihan said.

The group claimed vindication as since last year, it has been vocal on the urgency of the financial assistance as the lockdown barred peasants from their livelihood.

Amihan said the health problem led to wiping out of household incomes and throwing them into indebtedness.

“We are enraged as many peasant families have faced hunger and poverty during the pandemic and now we are hearing about this huge amount of P780 million being unutilized and unused. It is morally wrong, a total failure and a neglect to the demand of the poor farmers and peasant women in the countryside," the group said.

Amihan chairperson Zenaida Soriano said the DSWD imposed its discriminatory guidelines and numerous requirements.

Because of this, qualified beneficiaries have not availed themselves of the cash assistance that led to disqualification, she added.

The group assailed the DSWD, which denied 139,300 qualified beneficiaries, particularly in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Cagayan de Valley, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas and Davao for cash assistance.

The group said these regions are mostly rural areas where peasant communities are in dire need of assistance.