A total of 1,204 local government units (LGUs) have completed the distribution of Social Amelioration Program (SAP) aid, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) reported on Saturday. Interior Secretary Eduardo Año urged LGUs to share and replicate best practices in the aid distribution once the SAP’s second tranche would be issued this month, “The national and local governments are only facilitators of proper disbursement and distribution to the poorest of the poor to help mitigate the socioeconomic impact of Covid-19 (coronavirus disease 2019)” Año said in a statement. According to the Department of Social Welfare and Development, the second wave of SAP subsidies may be released on or before May 20 to LGUs that have submitted “complete” liquidation reports on the first phase. Año said the Social Welfare department would conduct validation to ensure that recipients of the first tranche are eligible and there are no cases of duplication, and has assured that he would forward to the DSWD the complaints against LGUs linked to SAP distribution anomalies.
