The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) announced Thursday that it will provide an additional P3,000 to maximize the financial aid received by recipients of the social amelioration program (SAP) through the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and Department of Agriculture (DA).

“Ang top-up ay ibibigay upang mabuo ang kaukulang ayuda na PHP5,000 to PHP8,000 o ang maximum subsidy ng bawat rehiyon na natatangap ng bawat benepisyaryo (We will top up their aid to complete the suggested financial assistance per family beneficiary of PHP5,000 to PHP8,000 depending on the maximum subsidy in their respective regions),” DSWD Undersecretary Rene Glen Paje explained.

Paje added that the DSWD will distribute the top-up aid to DOLE and DA SAP beneficiaries along with the SAP 2 aid, which they have previously announced to be completed by September 2020.

The agency said the move follows the Joint Memorandum Circular No. 2 which was signed in June along with other government agencies including the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Philippine National Police (PNP), and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, which facilitate the transportation and security of the social welfare officers.

On Tuesday, the agency said there are more than 142,000 beneficiaries of DOLE under the Tulong Panghanapbuhay para sa Displaced/Disadvantaged Workers (TUPAD) Program, Barangay Ko, Bahay Ko (#BKBK) disinfection/sanitation project, and over 292,000 recipients of DA who are qualified to receive financial support.

“DOLE beneficiaries who received aid during the first tranche of SAP are eligible to receive the top-up aid,” Paje added in vernacular.

The circular identified Region 3 except Aurora Province, National Capital Region, Region 4-A (Calabarzon), provinces of Benguet, Pangasinan, Iloilo, Cebu Province, Albay Province, and cities of Bacolod, Davao, and Zamboanga City for the distribution of SAP 2 aid. (PNA)