Baguio lawmakers address challenges on provision of Social Amelioration

April 19, 2020 Metro BLISTT

The city council has approved a number of legislative measures in a bid to address various complaints of residents in the different barangays regarding the implementation of the Social Amelioration Program (SAP).
The lawmakers during its regular session on April 13 approved a resolution requesting for reevaluation of the SAP guidelines and possible modification of some
of its provisions so as to accommodate more beneficiaries.
Councilor Joel Alangsab raised concern on some of the validators’ rigid adherence to the SAP guidelines which had disqualified many residents in need of the social amelioration.
“The validators are too stringent, too strict. Maybe we can relax the guidelines so that others will also be qualified because we have the money for the program,” Alangsab remarked.
Alangsab also called out the barangay officials on their alleged lack of inclusivity regarding the profiling of residents. He claimed that some barangay officials failed to comply with the instruction of the City Social Welfare and Development (CSWDO) that all residents should be profiled through Application Form 200.
The council also approved a resolution urging the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to provide financial assistance to persons belonging to the vulnerable sectors, especially senior citizens and persons with disabilities (PWDs), who are disqualified from the SAP.
Councilor Betty Lourdes Tabanda stressed that only indigent senior citizens and PWDs living independently are qualified for the SAP and that pensioners are not eligible for the emergency subsidy as prescribed by the present guidelines. She argued that some senior citizens receive less than P5, 000.00 for their pension and many of them do not get adequate sustenance from their children whose work is suspended due to the enhanced community quarantine.
City Social Welfare and Development Officer Betty Fangasan explained that individuals belonging to the vulnerable sectors may avail of medical services and other
forms of assistance through the Assistance for Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS), a program of the DSWD which provides protective services for the poor, marginalized, and disadvantaged individuals.
Moreover, the august body addressed issues on transparency by approving measures calling for public disclosure of names of relief grantees. Alangsab, through a
resolution, has urged all the 128 barangays to comply with the mandate of the Department of the Interior and Local Government to regularly post the list of SAP recipients in their jurisdiction.
Furthermore, Councilor Isabelo Cosalan, through a resolution, has requested DSWD-CAR Regional Director Leo Quintilla and the CSWDO to make available to the public the reports regarding the number of food packs delivered and distributed to the barangays.
Meanwhile, Vice Mayor Faustino Olowan advised the CSWDO to form a grievance committee that will resolve citizens’ concerns on the implementation of
the SAP.
Addressing Councilor Michael Lawana’s concern on the set deadline for the validation of the would-be beneficiaries of the emergency subsidy, Mayor Benjamin Magalong assured the council that the said process will push through until the number of target beneficiaries in the city which is 45, 000 is attained. Moreover, Magalong informed the council that the City Government of Baguio was granted additional 7 Million for the implementation of the TUPAD (Tulong Panghabapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers).
The said amount will benefit additional 2,000 individuals apart from the 1,149 beneficiaries that were subsidized earlier by the program. Magalong also said TUPAD beneficiaries will receive an additional amount of P2, 000.00 raising the cash assistance to a total of P5, 500. The mayor said the increase will address the disparity between the emergency subsidy under the SAP and the cash assistance provided by the TUPAD.
Jordan G. Habbiling/ABN