Mabalacat City LGU through its city social welfare and development office released some 500 cheques on Friday. Almost 300 individuals received the medical and financial assistance payout in all 27 barangays. The remaining 200 plus beneficiaries will receive their cheques on Saturday. (Photo grabbed from Mabalacat City News Covid-19 update Facebook page)
MABALACAT CITY — As part of the second wave of relief distribution to continue providing assistance to its constituents amid the extended enhanced community quarantine, the city government started releasing the P6,500 social amelioration program (SAP) on Friday.
Charlo Costales, GAD office head and local coordinator of the DSWD-SAP, said the city government’s policy for the second wave of relief distribution was “shifted” to give the SAP to its 30,425 beneficiaries and the 25-kilo sack of rice with P1,000 cash assistance to those who are not included in the SAP list.
Costales clarified that based on the city’s updated census, Mabalacat has a total of 73,000 households contrary to the initial report of 57,000 as the SAP is only allocated for 30,425 beneficiaries.
“Yung ginamit po kasi na figure from DSWD (at that time) was from the 2016 census, with a big change in disparity. Nag actual house–to–house count po ang city government, umabot po ng 73,000 household kabuuan,” Costales said. “So yung remaining na 40,000 household sila yung target namin para sa 25-kilo sack of rice with P1000 cash assistance.”
Costales said the validation and payout for the P6,500 SAP is already ongoing and the initial barangays that have already received cash assistance were Dolores, Mamatitang, Poblacion, and Sapang Balen.
“Wala pa po dito yung mga iba pang mga local initiatives gaya ng pagre-release ng local social pension. Sila po yung mga individuals na hindi mabibigyan ng SAP. Augmentation ito ng city government para sa mga matatanda na P3,000, sa mga bedridden na P4,000 per individual. Meron din po para sa mga solo parent pero in a form of livelihood worth P6,500 also,” Costales said.
In addition, Costales explained, the cheques that were released also on Friday through the city social welfare and development office were monetary assistance that was supposed to be given to senior citizens and sick elderlies before the lockdown was implemented.
“Mga financial assistance po iyon na dati pang nai-request pero naabutan sila ng lockdown kaya ngayon po dino-door-to-door po namin sila. Iba-iba po sila ng category pero mostly mga medical assistance po ito na nai-submit sa city hall bago pa man mag lockdown pero ngayon palang po naire–release.”
