Malay mayor says cash aid distribution will be finished Thursday

Malay, Aklan acting Mayor Frolibar Bautista expressed confidence that he would finish the distribution of cash aid under the Social Amelioration Program by Thursday.

At a Laging Handa press briefing, Bautista said over nearly 7,000 Malay residents were deemed qualified to receive the cash assistance from the government. As of May 4, the local government already provided aid to 5,795 beneficiaries.

"Sa ngayon, matapos namin ang deadline. Lahat mabigay ko as of today. 'Yung 6,922 na binigay sa amin na allocation, ma-release lahat 'yan," Bautista said.

May 7 is the deadline of the distribution of the first tranche of the cash aid from SAP after it was extended for seven days from April 30, the original deadline.

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año decided to extend again the deadline to May 10 as some areas, especially those with a large number of population, encounter challenges in distributing the aid.

He said a total of 985 out of 1,634 local government units have completed the distribution as of 8 p.m. last night. — Anna Felicia Bajo/RSJ, GMA News