BAGUIO CITY May 10 – Officials of some thirteen local governments in the Cordillera committed to return to the regional office of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD-CAR) their unused funds previously earmarked for the beneficiaries of the government’s Social Amelioration Program (SAP) in their areas of jurisdiction following the lapse of the deadline for the distribution of the financial assistance.
DSWD-CAR regional director Leo Quintilla, however, said that the total amount that the concerned local government will be returning could not yet be determined as the said municipalities are making their final liquidation report on the funds that were downloaded to them.
He disclosed that among the municipal governments that committed to return their unused SAP funds include Bucloc, Daguioman, Lacub, Licuan-Baay, Luba, Tineg and Tuba in Abra; Sadanga, Besao and Barlig in Mountain Province; Tanudan and Tinglayan in Kalinga and Mayoyao in Ifugao.
On the other hand, Quintilla claimed that there are 8 local governments that are still trying to complete the distribution of SAP financial assistance to their beneficiaries that include Bangued, Dolores, Penarrubia and Pidigan in Abra; Baguio City; La Trinidad and Tuba in Benguet and Tabuk City in Kalinga.
The DSWD-CAR official revealed that it was only Sadanga, Mountain Province that was able to return some P147 million in unused SAP funds because the quota that was given by the agency to the municipal government which was 1,400 families was over and above the validated 1,132 families that are qualified to benefit from the financial assistance.
He added that the Cordillera was among the top 3 regions in the country that was able to distribute the SAP financial assistance to the identified beneficiaries where it was able to record some 96 percent average in the provision of the assistance to beneficiaries of the government’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program and non-4Ps beneficiaries region-wide.
Quintilla commended the municipal and barangay officials as well as the social workers of the 13 municipal governments that committed to return their unused SAP funds for conducting due diligence in the distribution of the financial assistance to the qualified beneficiaries and for exerting extra effort in trying to locate supposed beneficiaries to exhaust the funds that were downloaded to them.
Under the guidelines that were crafted for the SAP distribution, local governments that received such funds are mandated to make a complete liquidation report that will be validated by the DSWD prior to the release and downloading of the funds for the second tranche of the financial assistance that will be given to the recipients probably by the end of the month.
Quintilla expressed optimism that the remaining local governments that were not able to complete the distribution of the SAP benefits to their constituents during the first extension that was given by the agency will be able to complete the same by the end of the week so that the release of the second tranche of SAP benefits will not encounter unnecessary delays in the coming weeks.
By Dexter A. See