‘Defer, but don’t cancel’ DSWD aid

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña has no qualms about suspending the distribution of the P10,000 cash assistance under the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

The mayor, though, emphasized that stopping the whole program over speculations of politicking would be “unfair.”

“It’s okay to postpone it until after the (barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan) elections, but to stop it? That’s not fair,” he told reporters.

A project of the DSWD, the SLP aims to improve poor families’ lives by creating more employment and entrepreneurial opportunities.

The first to receive the cash aid were some 230 beneficiaries from 11 associations in Barangay Mambaling last February.

For this year, DSWD has set aside around P600 million for at least 66,000 beneficiaries from the 80 barangays in the city.

In Mambaling alone, there are a total of 1,235 beneficiaries. For now, the pilot areas are Mambaling, Sawang Calero, and Banilad.

But there will be no distribution of the financial aid anytime soon, after Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella raised concerns about the timing of its distribution.

Despite the suspension, the mayor said the City Government will still push for the SLP’s implementation after the elections next month.

“We’re not stealing money, nanghatag lang mi. We’re working out na makadawat ang urban poor” Osmeña added.