Over 12M families got P74.2-B from 2nd tranche of COVID-19 cash doles

More than 12 million families have received their second tranche of cash assistance under the national government’s social amelioration program, the Department of Social and Welfare and Development said Thursday.

In a virtual press conference, DSWD Secretary Rolando Bautista said as of August 12, the agency already covered a total of 12,287,655 beneficiaries, distributing P74.2 billion worth of cash aid nationwide.

Of 12.28 million SAP 2 recipients, more than 1.3 million were Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program beneficiaries, 5.5 million were low-income and non-4Ps families, 3 million were waitlisted low-income and non-4Ps families, and over 1.3 million were waitlisted families from areas under enhanced community quarantine.

Meanwhile, Bautista said the DSWD distributed around P857.3 million to a total of 115,680 transport network vehicle services and public utility vehicle drivers nationwide. He said the beneficiaries were based on the list given by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board.

Drivers who were not included in the list were referred to DSWD Field Offices and included in the list of waitlisted beneficiaries.

He said the DSWD is eyeing to complete the digital and manual payouts of the second tranche in the second week of August.

“Tuloy-tuloy lamang po ang pamamahagi ng DSWD ng ayuda sa lahat ng mga kwalipikadong benepisyaryo ng ikalawang bugso ng SAP. Sinisikap ng ahensya na maabot ang target natin na matapos ang lahat ng payout sa kalagitnaan ng ikalawang linggo ng Agosto,” he said.

Moreover, Bautista also urged beneficiaries to only go to remittance centers during their scheduled payout to prevent the further spread of COVID-19.

“Pinapaalalahanan namin ang mga benepisyaryo na pumunta lamang sa payout center sa tinakdang schedule upang maiwasan ang umpukan sa isang lugar,” he said.

Bautista said the DSWD already coordinated with local government units to deploy additional security presence at payout centers to enforce minimum health standards such as social distancing and wearing of face masks. -NB, GMA News