A lLEADER of the House of Representatives on Wednesday urged implementing agencies of the government’s social amelioration programs (SAPs) to scale up the delivery of financial assistance for individuals affected by the enhanced community quarantine to contain the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.
Deputy Speaker Michael Romero said only one in 10 farmers received financial aid under the SAPs provided by the Bayanihan to Heal as One Law.
Citing the weekly reports submitted to Malacañang by SAP implementing agencies last week, Romero said only 53,881 of the targeted 591,246 rice farmer-beneficiaries have so far received cash grants worth PHP5,000 each.
In the case of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), he noted that only 20,500 workers of the 135,720 target-beneficiaries have been given PHP10,000 each by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
“Clearly, we have a long way to go in helping the affected sectors,” he said.
For the 18 million low-income households, Romero said only 6.3 million or 35 percent received PHP5,000 to PHP8,000 financial assistance so far.
Romero, however, commended the DOLE for its 96.6-percent performance in helping a combined 565,125 formal and informal workers out of target of 585,303, releasing PHP2.3 billion assistance out of the allotted PHP2.7-billion budget.
Among the SAPs being implemented are: the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Program (AICS) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD); the Covid-19 Adjustment Measures Program (CAMP) for affected formal workers, the CAMP Abot-Kamay at Pagtulong (AKAP) for displaced overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), and Tulong Panghanapbuhay para sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) of the DOLE; and the financial subsidy for rice farmers of the Department of Agriculture (DA). (By Filane Mikee Cervantes)
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