IATF: Social amelioration aid not for 4Ps, formal sector workers, non-indigent elderly

Beneficiaries of the 4Ps program, senior citizens receiving pension, non-indigents and formal sector workers are not included in the government's Social Amelioration Program, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles clarified on Monday.

Nograles, spokesperson of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), made the clarification during the Laging Handa briefing.

Under the program, cash assistance will be given to 18 million low income families affected by the work stoppage due to the enhanced community quarantine imposed to prevent the further spread of COVID-19.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development is set to distribute P5,000 to P8,000 per family under the scheme, depending on the minimum wage of the region. 

“Noong ginawa ang calculation na 18 million low income families, hindi na po kasama iyong sa 4Ps kasi nabigyan na po ito ng emergency subsidy [bukod pa sa regular 4Ps cash grant]. Hindi na po sila kasama sa bibigyan ng Social Amelioration Card (SAC) ng LGU,” Nograles said. 

“DSWD ang magma-manage pero with assistance ng LGU. Iyong pagbigay ng allocation ng LGUs, that was based on budget proposal ng LGUs based on number of families na sinubmit ng LGUs na kinakailangan niya," he said.

Nograles said workers in the formal sector are not included in the program since they will receive P5,000 assistance from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

"Pagdating sa DSWD, siyempre ang ibabalik sa LGUs nabawasan na [ang listahan] nung para sa 4Ps at para sa formal sector kasi DOLE na po ang bahala roon, iyong CAMP (COVID-19 Adjustment Measures Program) na tulong nila. Gano'n ang pag-allocate natin sa LGUs,” Nograles added.

Likewise, Nograles said senior citizens who are retirees and already receiving a monthly pension from the Government Service Insurance System and Social Security System, among other sources, will not be qualified under the scheme.

“Ito pong mga senior citizens na may natatanggap nang pension dahil po sa panahon noong sila’y nagtatrabaho pa, excluded na po. Uunahin po natin iyong mga indigent senior citizens na tumatanggap ng social pension sa DSWD,” Nograles pointed out.
 
“Because when we say 18 million low income families, ito po iyong families most in need, mga kailangan na kailangan ng tulong galing sa gobyerno. Hindi na po kasama ang may kaya,” Nograles added.

Nograles also clarified the distribution of social amelioration aid is per family, not per family member.

"Kapag isa po sa pamilya ang jeepney driver, at iyong asawa naman po ay labandera, isang Social Amelioration Card lang po para sa pamilya. Hindi po puwedeng dalawa sa isang pamilya," Nograles said.

Under the program's guidelines, the target beneficiaries belong to either the poor or informal sector which are at risk of not earning a living during the enhanced community quarantine.

The family may have at least one member belonging to any of the following vulnerable or disadvantaged sectors: 

• senior citizens; 
• persons with disability; 
• pregnant and lactating women; 
• solo parents; 
• overseas Filipinos in distress 
• indigenous peoples 
• underprivileged sector and homeless citizens 
• employees who are under no work, no pay scheme 
• farm workers/fisherfolk 
• sub minimum wage earners 
• sari-sari store owners and 
• informal economy workers (public utility drivers, househelp, contractual workers, farmers, stranded workers), among others.

—KG, GMA News