Malacañang has made the official inclusion of 5 million more beneficiaries in the second tranche of cash aid for poor families amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The Palace released a memorandum on May 22 Saturday ordering concerned government agencies to “include the additional five million eligible households to the twelve million beneficiaries under the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation program of the DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development).”
This totals the number of beneficiaries for the second wave of Social Amelioration Program (SAP) to 17 million.
As announced, priority would be given to households under enhanced community quarantine and modified ECQ with stricter protocols on movement and reopening of businesses. The memorandum clarified that “households most affected by the continuing restrictions in the operation of certain industries and sectors in areas under a general community quarantine may still be considered for the second tranche.”
The list is subject to validation of national government agencies and local government units, according to the order signed by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea.
Cities of Cebu and Mandaue are under ECQ. Metro Manila and the provinces of Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga and Zambales are under MECQ — considered as a transition phase toward the more relaxed GCQ. The rest of the country is currently under GCQ.
Malacañang also directed the DSWD, in coordination with the Department of Information and Communications Technology and National Privacy Commission to fast-track the development of an online portal with the list of all qualified beneficiaries of the SAP.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government on Friday updated that it was still collating reports on poor families who were not given aid in first tranche, so they can be prioritized for the next wave of distribution.
Low-income families are entitled to ₱5,000 to ₱8,000 worth of assistance for April and May under the Bayanihan to Heal As One Act.
