Multiple reports have surfaced that the government’s list does not jibe with the actual number of families in need. The qualified families are based on the 15 million families included in the 2015 Listahanan – the DSWD’s data collection system that identifies the poorest households in the country, along with 3 million more families based on population growth. The DSWD has P200 billion to shell out for two months under its emergency subsidy program. Under the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, the government is mandated to give cash aid to 18 million poor families who were further affected by the coronavirus pandemic. The family has no savings – every month’s salary is just enough to get by.Įven though she knew it was wrong, Lorna included the names of her family in a group of 4 under one SAC. He earns a minimum wage under a no work, no pay policy. Luckily, he was able to get his salary of P5,000 on March 15, two days before the ECQ kicked in. Her husband, a factory worker at a food company, has been out of work due to Luzon’s enhanced community quarantine (ECQ). Her doctor said she can’t have salty food, but the family can’t afford to be choosy at this time. Lorna’s mother, a senior citizen, is epileptic. From the can, she counted the number of fish inside to see if there would be one for each of them. Lorna decided her family of 4 was having sardines for the night. Even if the DSWD cash aid hadn’t arrived, she was thankful they received these from her local government. They left the forms overnight for the families to group themselves, and said they would come back the following day to pick them up.īack home, Lorna counted the relief goods left on her shelf.

Qualified families in Caloocan are supposed to receive P8,000 a month for April and May.īut the officials reportedly left answering none of their questions. The DSWD disclosed that P1.7 billion had been transferred to the Caloocan city government by April 13. While some wanted to ignore the forms, others agreed to splitting – they couldn’t afford getting nothing. If the subsidy is P8,000, it should be P8,000. (When the barangay officials came, the community was talking among ourselves and agreeing that we shouldn’t sign the forms. Kasi ‘yun din ang sinabi ni Cayetano,” Lorna told Rappler. “ Noong dumating ‘yung mga opisyales, marami nang nag-uusap tungkol sa hindi namin pipirmahan, dapat lahat kami pantay-pantay. They all pointed to a video of House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, where Cayetano made it clear – one family is to one card. Lorna* and other members of the community knew that this wasn’t right. Members of a Caloocan community messaged each other from across houses as officials told them that since there are more than 1,600 families in the barangay, and only 583 social amelioration cards (SACs) provided, 4 families would have to share one subsidy from the DSWD. It was April 13 when the barangay officials finally came – two weeks into the first month of the government’s emergency subsidy program (ESP). Why is there such a policy? Where is the Department of Social Welfare and Development?) Four families shouldn’t be sharing a form. Bakit ganoon? Nasaan ba ang DSWD?” (Let’s not sign. Hindi naman dapat 4 na pamilya sa isang form. MANILA, Philippines – “ Huwag nating pirmahan.

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