The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has distributed financial assistance to about 80 families in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental.

DSWD on Monday said it has allotted PHP6,000 for each family through the Emergency Subsidy Program (ESP) of the Republic Act 11494 or the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan 2).

“These families were affected by the granular lockdown imposed by its local government unit to contain the spread of Covid-19 in the area. The prohibition of going out from their houses was strictly implemented. Reporting for work or selling goods in the market is not possible, causing the wage earners and vendors to earn less than their expected income,” the agency said.

The beneficiaries in San Juan, Metro Manila were the first to receive the new cash aid in early November.

The new law mandates that low-income families in areas under “granular lockdowns” on Sept. 13 are entitled to receive a one-time emergency cash subsidy ranging from P5,000 to P8,000.

The special guidelines for the ESP under Bayanihan 2 released last week stated that “it is not to be interpreted as the successor” to the government’s Social Amelioration Program (SAP) or SAP 3.

DSWD Secretary Rolando Bautista clarified this in press briefings, saying the SAP was complete and under the already-lapsed RA No. 11469 or the Bayanihan to Heal As One Act, “or the continuation” of the Bayanihan 1.

It was also emphasized that the beneficiaries of the ESP are not the same as recipients of the SAP.

“The target beneficiaries for Bayanihan 2 are low-income families in granular lockdown areas; those who did not receive SAP 1 and 2 as well as those undocumented overseas Filipinos who returned here,” DSWD spokesperson Irene Dumlao said in a Viber message.

Further, Dumlao said there are SAP beneficiaries who are yet to receive their allowance.

“Their cash aids are already forwarded from the DSWD to the respective financial service provider,” she said.

SAP sought to assist 18 million Filipino families who were greatly affected by the ECQ.

Under the Bayanihan 2, the Department of Budget and Management said the DSWD will focus its fund for the recovery program of low-income families through the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP).

DSWD’s SLP is a capacity-building program aimed at nurturing the entrepreneurial and labor skills of poor households by providing them with opportunities to enhance their access to basic social services and improve their standard of living. (PNA)