Govt eyes electronic SAP aid distribution

THE government is considering using an electronic distribution system “to plug the holes for corruption” in the implementation of the second phase of the Social Amelioration Program ( SAP), Malacañang said on Wednesday.

Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. made the statement as he appealed anew to the public to bear with the delayed distribution of the second tranche of the government’s cash aid.

“What we’re trying to avoid now is not just the fact where people during the first tranche had to come out en masse, in long queues and mix, and in some instances, social [ or physical] distancing was not observed, but we’re also plugging the holes for corruption because when there’s no more intervention by local government units ( LGUs), then we’ll reduce the possibility of corruption,” Roque said in a television interview.

Social Welfare Secretary Rolando Bautista earlier announced that instead of LGUs, police and military personnel would take the lead in the distribution of the second tranche of the cash aid.

About 17 million low- income households are expected to receive the second wave of assistance from the national government.

Roque assured the public that the 17 million poor families would get the assistance in a “matter of seconds,” once the government starts the automated distribution of the financial aid.

“The DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development) is now making the transfer electronically. I know there is a bit of delay in doing this, but if they actually implement it electronically, it will just take a matter of minutes to distribute the next P100 billion,” Roque said

“So, please, we ask for people’s patience. It will happen mostly electronically and when it does, it will be finished in a matter of seconds,” he added.

The DSWD earlier admitted that the lack of manpower caused delays in the release of the second wave of payouts for SAP beneficiaries.

The department had to validate the identities of the beneficiaries before it could begin the distribution of the second tranche of the emergency subsidies.

But only 472 of 1,634 LGUs have submitted their liquidation reports to the DSWD as of May 28.

On Monday, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said the Department of the Interior and Local Government had validated almost 4 million of the 5million additional beneficiaries of SAP.

Under the cash aid program, beneficiaries receive between P5,000 and P8,000 to help them cope with the health crisis.