DABAWENYOS might not be receiving the second tranche of the Social Amelioration Program (SAP) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)-Davao after the region has been put under general community quarantine (GCQ) starting May 16.
In an interview Wednesday, May 13, DSWD Davao Information Officer Kristelle May Cagatin told SunStar Davao that they have yet to receive a directive whether Davao Region will be given a budget to continue the emergency cash assistance distribution.
"Wala pang executive order si President. We are still waiting for further instructions from the national," she said.
As of Wednesday, May 13, based on their data for both Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) and non-pantawid beneficiaries, DSWD-Davao has recorded 87.49 percent accomplishment. Thus, of 951,193 target families, a total 832,179 have received the assistance, while 119,014 were still unserved.
For non-pantawid beneficiaries alone, which is implemented alongside with the local government units (LGUs), they have 84.30 percent accomplishment rate or 577,923 families served out of the 685,547 target families with P3,467,538,000 assistance released.
Cagatin said that of the 48 LGUs that transferred funds, excluding Davao City, 42 LGUs have so far completed the distribution of cash aid.
Under the SAP, qualified beneficiaries in Davao Region are entitled to receive P6,000.
As to the reason why there are still unserved beneficiaries, she said the payout is still ongoing. They also have a limit on the number of individuals to be served in a day.
She cited that there is also a shortage of disbursing officers. Before a certain LGU can get the funds, there should be a bonded staff from LGU or DSWD.
"For Davao City, we are talking about P1.7 billion kay almost half sa target sa region, naa sa Davao City. Most of our SDOs naa lang bond na P25 million so it will take time gyud and limited lang pod ang ilang maserve," Cagatin said.
Another reason is some areas in the region are Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (Gida). Social workers are having difficulty going through those areas because of their location.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said during an online press briefing Tuesday, May 12, that only those who live in areas within ECQ will get assistance, while those in GCQ areas will no longer receive aid.
On May 12, the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) recommended the entire Davao Region to shift to general community quarantine (GCQ) effective May 16. Roque, however, clarified that Davao City and Davao de Oro are still subject to verification on May 14.
Cagatin, meanwhile, said the downloaded budget that they released to the LGUs was only intended for the first tranche. Hence, if Davao Region is no longer eligible for SAP, there will be no more payouts for May.
"[There will be] no more payouts for the second tranche and focus na ta sa liquidation sa maong mga funds and validation sa mga nakadawat (We will now focus on liquidation of the funds and validation of recipients)," Cagatin said.