DSWD races to give rice retailers P15 trillion aid

CEBU, Philippines — The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is rushing to finish releasing by tomorrow, Thursday, the P15,000 assistance to small retailers affected by the mandated rice price ceiling, before the start of the elections spending ban.

DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian said President  Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr., who is also the agriculture secretary, made the directive to fast-track the distribution during a sectoral meeting at Malacañang yesterday, Tuesday.

Gatchalian, however, said they have also applied with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) a ban exemption because, as of yesterday, only 502 of the 5,942 targeted beneficiaries of DSWD's Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) have received the assistance.

“The President instructed us to finish this at the soonest possible time. He likes the idea of finishing it by the 14th, but we told him that we would really want…we have applied for an exemption in the eventuality that there are unforeseen circumstances that will cause some delay,” Gatchalian said, at a Malacañang press briefing.

He said the DSWD would conduct simultaneous payout in different regions of the country.

Gatchalian said they target to finish the payout before the deadline in all highly urbanized cities and regions, and just resume later the distribution in areas where beneficiaries failed to receive assistance.

“We have to stop by the 15th, so by Sept. 14, our goal is to finish at least all highly urbanized cities and regions. But we did file for exemption, and we are hopeful to be granted the (exemption) in case of spillover,” he said.

He also assured that under the SLP, a regular DSWD program, there is enough funding to cover for the cost of assistance for rice retailers across the country.

For this year, the SLP has an initial funding of P6 billion, of which around P5.4 billion is classified as unobligated or unutilized funds.

As of Sept. 11, the DSWD has already disbursed around P7.5 million worth of assistance to beneficiaries from Zamboanga del Sur and the cities of San Juan, Caloocan, Quezon, Parañaque, and Navotas.

Gatchalian said lawmakers have also pledged to seek additional funding of P2 billion, in case the DSWD falls short for this year’s SLP budget.

The Comelec recently upgraded its guidelines on social welfare projects and public works ban, in connection with the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections set on Oct. 30.

The poll body prohibits the release, disbursement, or expenditure of public funds for social welfare projects from Sept. 15 to Oct. 30, except for "Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations", whose distribution is prohibited from Oct. 20 to 30. — (FREEMAN)