Sabangan, Mountain Province is the first municipality in the Cordillera to fully distribute the Social Amelioration Program (SAP) assistance to its beneficiaries.
Office of Civil Defense Regional Director Alberto Mogol, who chairs the Cordillera Regional Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council and the Inter-agency Task Group Covid-19, last week congratulated the municipal government through Mayor Marcial Lawilao for the achievement.
Municipal Local Government Operations Officer Caridad Basilio shared how the LGU did it.
She said the mayor organized four teams accompanied by personnel of the Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection, and Philippine Army. Each team consists of staff members of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Municipal SWDO, Office of the Mayor, and Office of the Municipal Treasurer.
The payout started on April 14. The municipality has 1,716 4Ps beneficiaries and 2,031 non-4Ps SAP beneficiaries.
Before the payout, barangay officials were instructed to inform the SAP beneficiaries in their respective area to stay put. Each team covered two barangays per day. They have to finish the payout even until late in the afternoon so that the following day, teams move to next two barangays.
There were designated areas where the beneficiaries received their cash assistance, observing the quarantine protocols of wearing of face masks and physical distancing.
Cash assistance for the senior citizens and the bedridden were delivered personally by the concerned team.
On April 17, the teams revisited the SAP beneficiaries who were not present during the scheduled payout, completing the release of the cash assistance to all its beneficiaries.
The SAP is an emergency subsidy program under the Bayanihan to Heal as One law for low-income families affected by the Covid-19 pandemic in the country.
For the Cordillera, the SAP cash assistance for non-4Ps is P5,500 based on the wage rate in the region while P4Ps beneficiaries received P4,150 to add up to their regular cash grant of P1,350 for health and rice subsidy, excluding education fund as classes are suspended during the ECQ period. – PIA Mountain Province
