Palace admits slow distribution of aid

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang yesterday admitted that the distribution of the second tranche of aid for sectors affected by the coronavirus pandemic has been slow, but officials remain hopeful that it would be completed by the end of the month.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said only P20.1 billion out of the P100 billion allocated for the second tranche of the Social Amelioration Program (SAP) has been distributed.

The financial assistance has so far benefited 3.3 million households out of 18 million intended beneficiaries.

“It’s really slow. Even the Palace finds the process of the second tranche slow,” Roque said in Filipino at a press briefing.

“The DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development) cited many reasons but we accepted the declaration of DSWD that the giving of aid will be finished before the end of July, except for those without access to the internet. Let’s leave it at that,” he added.

The P205-billion SAP aims to provide financial assistance to low-income families and workers displaced by lockdowns.

The distribution of the second wave of the aid started last June. 
Officials previously claimed the distribution of the second tranche of aid would be faster because most of the funds would be transferred through electronic fund transfer.

Roque, however, admitted recently that duplicates in the names of beneficiaries are delaying the distribution.