DSWD distributes aid cards
THE Department of Social Welfare and Development ( DSWD) has started the house- to- house distribution of social amelioration card forms to 18 million families that would benefit from the government’s emergency subsidy program.
The forms will the basis for the grant of assistance by local authorities, according to DSWD Director Irene Dumlao.
“This social amelioration card form will be accomplished by the head of the family where they will fill out the necessary information,” said Dumlao.
The beneficiaries will receive cash and non-cash monthly assistance amounting to P5,000 to P8,000 for two months.
In a statement, the DSWD said the Emergency Subsidy Program includes the agency’s provision of food and non-food items and financial assistance through the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation as well as those provided by other agencies, provided that the benefits received by each household does not exceed the prescribed threshold per region.
The amount of aid to be given will be based on the minimum wage level in each region.
Likewise, livelihood assistance grants will be provided to a beneficiary- family of DSWD’s Sustainable Livelihood Program with at least one member who is a worker in the informal sector who was displaced because of the community quarantine.
The family must be in the master list endorsed by the local government unit to the DSWD.
Target beneficiaries of the assistance are poor families, senior citizens, persons with disabilities, pregnant and lactating mothers, solo parents, overseas Filipinos in distress, indigent indigenous peoples, homeless citizens, and informal workers.
Meanwhile, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello 3rd on Wednesday urged establishments applying for cash assistance for their employees to submit their reports and payroll.
Bello said some establishments refused to submit their report along with the payroll to the detriment of their workers.
“I therefore appeal again to companies that, for the sake of your employees and workers, submit your reports so that we may be able to extend them their most needed assistance under the Covid-19 Adjustment Measures Program (CAMP),” the labor chief said.
As of March 31, the Labor department’s field monitoring team recorded more than 630,000 displaced workers in 15,213 establishments.
Bello said the cash aid is different from the allocation of between P5,000 and P8,000 that the DSWD and other agencies are providing under the Bayanihan to Heal As One law.
He said while the new law provides a cash and non-cash Emergency Subsidy Program for two months based on the prevailing regional wage rates, the Labor department’s CAMP is a one-time quarantine assistance.
The Labor department also administers the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Displaced/ Disadvantaged Workers-Barangay Ko, Bahay Ko or Tupad# BKBK program, which provides the equivalent of daily minimum wage for 10 days of work for the informal sector workers.