No more third SAP tranche — DSWD

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will come out with a new relief assistance program for low-income families severely affected by the coronavirus pandemic under the Bayanihan 2 program of government.

Social Welfare Secretary Rolando Joselito Bautista said there will be no third tranche of the social amelioration program (SAP) to be implemented under the Bayanihan to Recover as One Law enacted by Congress.

“Based on Republic Act 11494, the agency will implement programs to help low-income families affected by the pandemic,” Bautista said in a virtual presser yesterday.

Bautista said that like the previous SAP, the law calls for them to implement an emergency subsidy, and a livelihood assistance grant program, aside from their existing programs to help marginalized families such as their assistance to indigents in crisis situations, their provision of food and non-food items, and and supplementary feeding program for day care children.

The assistance under the Bayaniyan 2 is not the SAP, Bautista said.

He said the new program is not a continuation of SAP and will have new beneficiaries and assistance to be given.

Bautista said they have already crafted guidelines for the implementation or programs and services under RA 11494, An Act Providing for COVID-19 Response and Recovery Interventions and Providing Mechanisms to Accelerate the Recovery and Bolster the Resiliency of the Philippine Economy.

However, he said that the DSWD’s regional Field Offices, in coordination with local government units, was still gathering information to identify beneficiaries of the relief programs.

“Complete details will be announced next week,” Bautista said.

As of yesterday, Bautista reported that the second tranche SAP has been issued to 13.96 million families amounting to P83.46 billion.

The DSWD has tallied a total target beneficiary for the second tranche SAP of 14.1 million families.