Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Martin Andanar on Tuesday assured that the administration is doing its best to coordinate with all line agencies and local government units to address the needs of the people.

During the Network Briefing News program, Andanar said the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte recognizes the challenges that the global health problems has brought to the country.

“Maniwala po kayo o sa hindi, ginagawa po ng pamahalaan ang lahat ng dapat gawin upang kahit papaano ay maibsan ang epekto ng epipemyang kinakaharap natin (Believe it or not, the government is doing everything to provide relief and lessen the effects of the epidemic that we are facing now),” he said.

Andanar also appealed to the public to patiently wait for the assistance as the government exhausts all efforts to provide relief amid the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

“Ang tanging hiling lang po natin ay ibayuhin pa ang ating pasensya, eh para naman sa atin to. Tiwala lang po sa proseso. Let us do our part, let us be patient (We are appealing (to the public) to remain patient because this is also for your welfare. Trust the process. Let us do our part, let us be patient),” he said.

As of June 23, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said more than 1.3 million family beneficiaries have already received cash aid from the second tranche distribution of the social amelioration program (SAP), amounting to over PHP6 billion.

These include the families listed under Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) and waitlisted beneficiaries submitted by local government units (LGUs) from Region 1 (Ilocos), Cordillera Administrative Region, and Region 3 (Central Luzon), that have completed their reports from the first tranche of SAP distribution.

Meanwhile, the DSWD is still validating the reports submitted by the local government units to avoid duplication of assistance.

During the same program, DSWD Secretary Rolando Bautista said there are over 51,000 cases of duplication based on their post-validation.

“Base sa post-validation na ginagawa ng ating mga field offices ay mayroon nang 51,563 recipients ng first tranche ng SAP ang may nakitang duplikasyon na nakatanggap din ng ayuda galing sa ibang ahensya ng gobyerno (Based on the post-validation by our field offices, there are 51,563 recipients found to have received assistance from other agencies)” he said.

Bautista stressed the importance of validation to obtain clean list of qualified low-income households that will receive the second tranche of cash aid from the government. (PNA)