Quimbo: Lack of manpower, digital scheme results in slow ECQ aid distribution

Marikina Representative Stella Quimbo on Tuesday underscored the need for the national government to shift to digital distribution of cash aid, especially in this period of pandemic, for fast disbursement of assistance.

Asked for reaction on the admission of the Department of Social Welfare and Development that only 8% of the allocated P22.9 billion in financial aid has been distributed in the NCR Plus area, Quimbo said this is not the fault of DSWD employees but could be attributed to several factors such as lack of manpower and the need for digital transformation.

"The slowness in distribution can be attributed to factors including the lack of manpower mostly in the LGU level, who are required to do physical distribution of cash while practicing social distancing," Quimbo, an economist, said in a statement to GMA News Online.

"Panahon na talaga na pati ang gobyerno natin, magkaroon na ng digital transformation (It is time for the government to adopt a digital scheme in aid distribution) where ayuda can be given through digital platforms," she added.

She said the government should study schemes on migrating to electronic payment schemes especially when it comes to aid distribution.

Quimbo added that the lack of data in identifying who are the qualified beneficiaries of the assistance is also a problem.

"If only our National ID system were in place today, the problem in identifying beneficiaries would be easily solved. I urge the Philippine Statistics Authority to expedite the roll out of the National ID system," she said.

Disappointing

For his part, Quezon City Representative Alfred Vargas, chairperson of the Committee on Social Services, expressed disappointment over the slow distribution of the assistance.

He said he wants to know from the DSWD why the numbers are "alarmingly low."

"This is quite disappointing. Alam naman natin na urgent ang nature ng ayuda kaya ito ibinigay sa mga kababayan natin," Vargas told GMA News Online.

They never learn

Meanwhile, House Minority Leader Joseph Stephen Paduano said SAP distributors "never learned," adding that the DSWD and local government units should create improvements on cash disbursement based on past experience.

"Last year's experience should have taught them lessons on how to avoid delays in the distribution of the cash assistance ," Paduano said in a press statement.

The lawmaker also pointed out that the DSWD grievance committee for beneficiaries' complaints is "not an excuse for their apparent inefficiency."

He also expressed dismay over the delays in cash aid as more people are experiencing hunger due to the lockdown restrictions imposed for more than a year.

"Gutom na ang tao ngunit pahirapan pa rin ang pagkuha ng ayuda kaya normal lang na marami ang magrereklamo," Paduano said.

(People are already hungry and yet they still have not received their financial aid so it's only normal that many people will complain.)

DSWD Secretary Rolando Bautista has said P1,757,281,000 of the P22,915,422,000 social amelioration program fund was disbursed to those low-income individuals and families affected by the enhanced community quarantine in Metro Manila and the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal.

Bautista admitted that there was a "slow start" in the disbursement of assistance, but he promised that the distribution would be fast in the coming days.

Of the disbursed funds, Metro Manila residents received the most cash aid with more than P1.5 billion funds distributed to 1.5 million beneficiaries.—AOL, GMA News