The Quezon City government has started the distribution of unclaimed financial aid from the second tranche of the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s social amelioration program under the Bayanihan To Heal As One Act.
“Our citizens encountered various problems when they were trying to claim their second tranche ‘ayuda’ when this was being fully distributed via digital and automated means. Some of the beneficiaries did not have smartphones or internet access for them to have an e-wallet account,” Mayor Joy Belmonte said.
“That’s why the national government, through much prodding by the city government and barangays, finally started the manual distribution of the unclaimed cash aid yesterday,” she added.
At least 40,699 beneficiaries would receive their aid through the two-week manual payout at the Quezon Memorial Circle covered court.
Beneficiaries are advised to follow the schedule assigned to their barangays to avoid overcrowding and ensure observance of minimum health protocols.
Last year, the SAP’s second tranche was distributed by DSWD’s financial service partners, such as Starpay and Gcash.
Due to various challenges on these digital platforms, several residents were not able to claim their aid.
The complete list of the beneficiaries who have yet to claim their cash aid, along with their payout schedule, is posted in their barangays and would be made available on the city government’s website.
“Again, we are reminding the residents to check first with your respective barangay if you are included in the waitlist of SAP before you go to the payout site on your scheduled date,” Belmonte said.
Fe Macale, Social Services Development Department chief, said the Department of Interior and Local Government has given local government units until July 15 to finish the aid distribution.
“We started the distribution of the first batch of unclaimed DSWD SAP waitlisted on Tuesday with 3,649 beneficiaries. This week, a total of 20,852 individuals from the second batch of unclaimed SAP waitlisted beneficiaries are scheduled to claim their ayuda and another 16,198 waitlisted are due to receive their aid next week,” she said.
