TACLOBAN CITY – The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Friday said a total of 81,003 additional family beneficiaries in Eastern Visayas would receive cash assistance under the social amelioration program (SAP) of the national government.
In a press statement, DSWD 8 (Eastern Visayas) Director Marie Angela Gopalan said these came from the 129 local government units (LGUs) in the region that submitted a list of qualified poor families but did not receive the grant during the first tranche.
A total of 38,420 families were listed from Leyte, 16,393 in Samar, 14,652 in Northern Samar, 5,310 in Eastern Samar, 4,663 in Southern Leyte, and 1,565 in Biliran.
As of July 29, the regional office here has already released P12,145,000, serving a total of 2,429 families.
Each recipient received P5,000 cash, Gopalan said.
“We expect more beneficiaries to receive the emergency subsidy in the next days, especially that the DSWD continues to conduct direct cash payout and we are also preparing for the implementation of the digital payment scheme,” she added.
Under Republic Act (RA) 11469 or the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, financial support for two months will be granted to indigent families affected by the movement restrictions meant to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
However, Eastern Visayas is no longer included in the second tranche of the emergency subsidy due to downgraded community quarantine status.
Gopalan said they released a total of P2,752,283,000 during the first tranche of SAP, serving 550,480 families from the region’s 143 LGUs.
Meanwhile, Eastern Visayas has confirmed a total of 936 Covid-19 cases, including 670 recoveries and three deaths from Leyte, Biliran, and Samar, according to the Department of Health monitoring report.
(GERICO SABALZA/PNA)
