The Pasig City government started the distribution of its supplemental financial assistance to residents not covered by the national government’s Social Amelioration Program (SAP).

“Yung mga hindi natin mabibigyan mula sa DSWD SAP, sasaluhin po ng Lungsod ng Pasig (those who were not given cash aid through DSWD, Pasig City will take care of them),” Mayor Vico Sotto said in a Facebook live.

The distribution of the first tranche of the SAP in the city, he said, is almost complete, which paved the way to start the distribution of its localized version of SAP.

He said the pilot run of the Pasig supplemental SAP distribution has already started in five smaller barangays in the city including Malinao, San Antonio, Sagad, Santa Rosa and Buting.

Sotto said the distribution of the supplemental cash assistance will be conducted house-to-house.

Around 160,000 families who were not included in the national SAP, he said, are target recipients of the local supplemental subsidy.

The Pasig City government has allocated more than PHP1 billion for its supplemental SAP as part of the emergency response to its residents amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

“Ito pong supplemental SAP, lahat po bibigyan natin. Pero kailangan nating i-emphasize na ang layunin natin dito ay para magbigay ng ayuda para sa mga nangangailangan (this supplemental SAP, everyone will be provided cash assistance. But I would like to emphasize that our purpose here is to give aid to those who really need it),” he said.

The Pasig Supplemental SAP, he added, is intended to help those deserving families who were not identified recipients of the national government’s SAP.

Meanwhile, Sotto said those renting houses in the city will also be given financial subsidy.

However, government employees will not be included in the distribution.

“Yung mga government employees hindi na kasama kasi sumusweldo naman tayo lahat, may hazard pay na at may OT pay pa (government employees will not be included because we all have our salaries, even hazard and overtime pays),” he said.

Sotto also urged other Pasig residents who are well-off to waive the cash assistance to those who deserve it the most.

Under the Pasig Supplemental SAP, those traditional or nuclear families, solo parents, grandparents whose grandchildren are with them, legally married couples even without children, and LGBTQ legal partners with children are qualified to receive PHP8,000 cash subsidy. (PNA)