Over 700 Paranaque residents given P8,000 in aid amid lockdown

More than 700 residents of a barangay in Paranaque received P8,000 in cash on Friday under the government's social amelioration program.

According to Dano Tingcungco's report on 24 Oras, Secretary Carlito Galvez led the distribution of cash relief to 762 beneficiaries in Barangay Vitales.

The financial assistance was distributed house-to-house by city hall officials and personnel from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

Galvez said that authorities decided to give residents the cash-in-full instead of in relief goods for faster distribution.

"Mas madali 'yung ano natin na kung cash para at least kung ano po ang gusto nilang mga options kung ano mabili nila, mas maganda po 'yon," Galvez said.

Out of the 160,000 families in Paranaque, 77,000 would be given financial assistance.

This is different from the 7,000 families and 4Ps members who were given financial assistance through their bank accounts.

Office worker Cyprill, whose job was under a "no work, no pay" scheme, said that the cash assistance was a big help.

"Actually sa savings talaga kasi ako kailangan ko talaga mag-save, nagbabayad ng bahay, nagbabayad ng tubig, nagbabayad ng kuryente," Cyprill said.

"Malaking tulong siya kasi kung single mom ako tapos wala akong trabaho, ano na isusustento ko sa anak ko?" she said.

The DWSD received P100 billion for the first tranche of the amelioration program.

Meanwhile, the second tranche would be given next month.

According to the report, the local government, DSWD, and the barangay chose the beneficiaries based on certain guidelines.

"May binigay po'ng guidelines sa amin ang DSWD na ito po 'yung sinusunod po ng ating syudad at sinusunod po ng ating barangay," an official said.

Authorities prioritized senior citizens, pregnant mothers, and displaced workers, according to the official.

"Una muna 'yung poorest of the poor. 'Yung mga tinatawag natin mga informals, mga talagang mga urban poor settlers and 'yung mga talagang directly naapektuhan ng nakita natin ng lockdown," Galvez said.

Meanwhile, for those who had complained about not receiving the assistance, Galvez said they would coordinate with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to ask if the complainant was present in the agency's list.

Galvez clarified that the program of the DSWD is different from the program of DOLE for those with no work, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) aid for distressed workers, and the Department of Agriculture's aid for fishers and farmers.

Once a beneficiary received financial aid from the other agencies, they were no longer eligible to receive the aid from DSWD.

"Dapat hindi ma-doble. 'Yun ang sabi ni president. Nagkakaroon na tayo ng tinatawag nating validation, pero ang ginagawa namin, sabi nga ni president, unahin natin atsaka i-check," Galvez said.

"Kung maka-doble man siya tsaka natin kukunin para mapabilis," he added.

According to the report, Galvez said he would still look into reports that some beneficiaries of the 4Ps did not receive the P8,000 in-full.

Meanwhile, he advised those not included in the first batch to coordinate with local government units. — Joahna Lei Casilao/DVM, GMA News