Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rolando Bautista said Tuesday the agency aims to finish the distribution of the second tranche of the Social Amelioration Program (SAP) by July 31.

“Bagamat nagkaroon ng delay, inaasahan po natin, sa tulong ng Financial Service Providers (FSPs) na matatapos ang pamamahagi ng ikalawang bahagi ng SAP sa July 31 (Though there were delays, through the help of our FSPs, we are eyeing to finish the distribution by July 31),” he said during the bi-weekly live-streamed program of the agency.

Bautista made this comment in response to Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque’s statement that Malacañang found the distribution of the second wave of financial assistance “to be slow”.

Roque announced Monday there were only 3,371,494 families of the target 18 million families who received coronavirus disease (Covid-19) aid.

During the briefing, Bautista pointed out that it was due to the transition from incorporating local government unit (LGU) personnel in the first tranche of distribution to having only DSWD officials lead the distribution for the second tranche.

The DSWD personnel were however accompanied by police and military forces to areas that are conflict-affected and geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDA) for their transportation and security.

“In terms of workforce and personnel, marami ang pwedeng gamitin ng LGU (the LGU can utilize many). But for the second tranche, DSWD ang nanguna sa pamimigay ng ayuda (DSWD led the distribution of aid for the second tranche) that’s why we used innovations like financial service providers (FSPs),” Bautista said.

DSWD tapped various FSPs to follow the protocol of the Inter-Agency-Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases to perform cashless transactions for safety.

“Gayunpaman hindi ganoon kabiis ang pag-adapt ng DSWD sa bagong innovation. Gayunpaman, pinagsisikapan ng ahesya ang agarang pagtapos ng pamimigay ng ayuda (However, DSWD did not adapt to the innovation that quickly. But the agency is trying its best to complete the distribution as fast as possible),” he said.

For areas that do not have access to an internet connection, conflict-affected, identified as GIDA, or where the FSPs do not have payout partners, Bautista said the cash assistance will reach them no later than August 15.

Areas covered by FSPs

Qualified beneficiaries who signed up through the ReliefAgad app will receive an SMS from their respective FSP when the SAP aid is ready to be collected.

“Mangyari lamang na susundin ang proseso na ibibigay, secure requirements like valid ID at huwag i-share ang verification code sa iba (We advise them to follow the steps given by their FSP. Prepare requirements like valid ID, their verification codes should not be shared to others),” DSWD assistant bureau director Maricel Deloria said in the same briefer.

Financial service provider Starpay caters to waitlisted beneficiaries living in Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Zamboanga, Northern Mindanao, Davao, some parts of the National Capital Region (NCR), and Pasig City.

Meanwhile, Starpay can be accessed by beneficiaries receiving their second batch of aid who are living in Ilocos region, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Zamboanga, Davao and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).

Paymaya can be accessed by beneficiaries in Central Visayas, Calabarzon, CAR, NCR, and Cebu City in Central Visayas.

For beneficiaries receiving the second wave of aid who are using GCash, it can be accessed by those who are in Ilocos, Central Visayas, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, NCR and CAR.

Waitlisted beneficiaries in Quezon City, Makati, Caloocan, Paranaque and Cebu can also use GCash.

UnionBank will cater to beneficiaries in Ilocos, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Western Visayas, Central Visayas and CAR.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) will accommodate beneficiaries from Ilocos, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Bicol and Central Visayas.

Waitlisted beneficiaries in Western Visayas and Northern Mindanao can also use RCBC.

Robinson’s Bank can also provide service to those living in Calabarzon, Bicol and NCR.

Current data

On July 20, DSWD said more than PHP24.4 billion were already transferred through manual and digital payouts.

DSWD reported that 3.5 million families composed of more than 1.3 million Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4P’s) beneficiaries, more than 1.1 million non-4P’s beneficiaries, and more than 1.1 million waitlisted family beneficiaries in different regions that received the second wave of aid. (PNA)