AUTHORITIES implementing the social amelioration program (SAP) may face criminal charges if beneficiaries from areas not under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) are excluded, a lawmaker at the House of Representatives warned on Thursday.

Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said this would violate Republic Act 11469 or the Bayanihan to Heal as One Law, which provides that from P5,000 to P8,000 emergency financial aid must be distributed for two months to each of the 18 million low-income families affected by the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.