DSWD payout of COVID-19 aid for low-income, poor families at 21% so far

Only 21 percent or P17 billion of P80 billion worth of social amelioration aid and emergency subsidies to low-income and 4Ps families amid the COVID-19 pandemic have been paid out by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to the intended beneficiaries, DSWD Secretary Rolando Bautista said Monday.

Bautista said that since the DSWD released P80 billion for such COVID-19 aid to its field offices, over P17 billion of that amount has reached its beneficiaries as of April 13 and is broken down to:

• P16.3 billion received by 3.7 million families under 4Ps
• P424 million received by 77,244 low income families and
• P323 million received by 40, 418 public utility drivers in the National Capital Region.

The social amelioration aid is for 18 million low income families, including senior citizens, affected by the enhanced community quarantine imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic—a measure that banned mass transport and prohibited mass gathering, resulting in work stoppage in many industries.

The social amelioration aid is worth P5,000 to P8,000 per family, depending on the region’s minimum wage rate. As for the 4Ps beneficiaries, their monthly 4Ps cash grant will just be increased as an emergency subsidy to meet the determined threshold of the social amelioration aid rate depending on the region.

The 18 million beneficiaries of social amelioration aid, however, do not include 4Ps beneficiaries and senior citizens who receive monthly pension as retired professionals.

The 4Ps or the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino program is a government initiative which grants monthly cash aid to poorest households, provided that they comply with conditions promoting human development such as sending children to schools 85 percent of the time, attending family development sessions, having check up with the health center, among others.

4Ps has been the government’s flagship anti-poverty program since 2008.

Other aid

The social amelioration aid is worth P5,000 to P8,000 per family, depending on the region’s minimum wage rate. As for the 4Ps beneficiaries, their monthly 4Ps cash grant will just be increased as an emergency subsidy to meet the determined threshold of the social amelioration aid rate depending on the region.

Likewise, the DSWD has already distributed 368,538 food packs across the country as an aid to local government units and provided P57 million worth of medical and burial assistance to 12,204 COVID-19 related cases.

Ahead of Bautista’s statement, DSWD spokesperson Irene Dumlao assured that the payout should reach the beneficiaries soon.

“Inaasahan po ang DSWD na tataas pa ang bilang ng mga beneficiaries na makakatanggap ng social amelioration at emergency subsidy dahil tuloy-tuloy po ang payouts ng field offices, kasama na po ang lokal na pamahalaan,” Dumlao said at the Laging Handa briefing on Monday.

“Ito pong amount na ito ang close approximation na kakailanganin ng isang pamilya sa isang buwan, kaya hindi po dapat ito hatiin [para sa dalawang pamilya],” Dumlao said.

Dumlao, however, clarified that all is not lost on those who will not qualify for the social amelioration aid as they can appeal their case.

“Puede po sila umapela sa local social welfare and development officers, at ito po ang ivavalidate ng DSWD,” Dumlao said.

The Philippines has at least 4,648 COVID-19 cases. Of this number, 297 have died while 197 others have recovered. — Llanesca T. Panti/BM, GMA News