More than 20,000 families in Caraga Region now have a reason to smile amid the pandemic, as the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) approved the 2nd batch payroll for the additional waitlisted families under the Social Amelioration Program (SAP).

The DSWD-Central Office approved a total of 22,682 families as additional to the 69,401 waitlisted families eligible to receive the Php5,000 emergency subsidy. DSWD Field Office Caraga now has a total of 92,083 waitlisted families under the said program.

As of this posting, DSWD Caraga is conducting payouts to these waitlisted families through direct payment by DSWD Special Disbursing Officers and through financial service providers such as RCBC and StarPay Corporation.

Of the 92,083 qualified families, some 63,941 (69.44%) already received their emergency subsidy, amounting to Php317,033,805.09.

DSWD Field Office Caraga has advised families who are yet to claim their subsidy to contact the Social Welfare and Development Office in their locality for further details or instructions on how to claim the subsidy. As for those families who already received assistance from other agencies, only the “top up” amount or the deficit of the total Php5,000 subsidy was given by DSWD.

The SAP implementation, specifically the emergency subsidy program is provided to over 18 million Filipino families whose lives are greatly affected by the Enhanced Community Quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s mandated through the Bayanihan To Heal As One Act, which was signed by the President last March 25, 2020.

The DSWD is implementing the program in cooperation with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Finance (DOF), Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), and the Local Government Units (LGU).