To avoid confusion stemming from fake news or misinformation, Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte has called on qualified beneficiaries of the national government’s cash assistance program to refer to the list posted by the local government and their respective barangays on social media pages and other conspicuous areas in their communities.
“Mangyari lamang at tumingin sa official social media page ng city government at ng inyong barangay para sa listahan ng mga pangalan. Dito din matatagpuan ang impormasyon tungkol sa oras at venue ng pagbibigay ng ayuda at pati na rin ang mga requirements na kailangan dalhin para ma-claim ito”, Belmonte said.
“Ang barangay din po ang magdedesisyon kung stubs ba ang gagamitin, color coding, per street, alphabetical name or per purok ang mode of distribution para masigurong maayos ang pagbibigay ng ayuda at mananatili ang minimum health standards”, she added.
Belmonte also said that the list of beneficiaries will be posted in other conspicuous places within the barangay and other areas where the people can easily see the list for reference, as per guidelines from the national government.
The barangay will assign a specific day and time to each beneficiary, and put in place other guidelines to avoid overcrowding in payout sites.
“Ang nabigyan sa unang ayuda noong Abril ay siya ring mabibigyan sa pangalawang ayuda,” added Belmonte.
An individual belonging to a low-income family stands to receive P1,000 while a household can receive a maximum of P4,000 as financial assistance for the duration of the two-week enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), which will run until Aug. 20.
The city government has already coordinated with the Philippine National Police (PNP) for additional security during the cash aid distribution to avoid any untoward incident that may stem from misinformation or sabotage.
“Nakipag-coordinate na kami sa PNP sa posibleng mangyari. Minsan may mga malisyosong gustong isabotahe ang maayos na proseso ng pamimigay ng ayuda. The challenge is orderly distribution amid the threat of the Covid virus, just like how this was accomplished last April,” Belmonte said.
The Mayor said the city government had started the necessary preparations for the distribution of the P2.48-billion financial assistance from the national government last weekend so qualified beneficiaries can receive the cash aid beginning Wednesday, as agreed upon by Metro Manila mayors.
Belmonte said most of the budget for financial assistance for 840,000 to 850,000 qualified families was downloaded by the national government on Friday.
“Preparations have already begun days ago. Hindi madali ito kasi kailangang ayusin at i-update ang listahan ng mga tao, tanggalin ang duplicate names, at i-print ang payroll,” Belmonte said.
“Pagkatapos kailangan pa tayong bumuo ng grievance committee at monitoring team”, stressed Belmonte, adding the local government already met with barangay officials regarding the preparation of the payout sites.
Indigent Individuals or families whose names are not on the beneficiary masterlist can still avail of the government’s cash assistance by appealing to the grievance committee. Unclaimed ayuda may be redistributed to them after the regular payout process.
In its Updated ECQ Guidelines memorandum issued by Belmonte on August 9, the beneficiary list must be staggered through hourly schedules to prevent overcrowding at the distribution venue. Beneficiaries shall not be allowed to loiter around the cash distribution area before or after their designated schedule.
Beneficiaries claiming financial assistance should bring an original and a photocopy of their DSWD SAP Form or QC SAP Form, and one government-issued ID (original and photocopy).
To ensure faster processing of claims, each payout site will be manned by a validator from the barangay for the checking of documents, a verifier from the Social Services and Development Department (SSDD) for cross-checking of names in the masterlist, and a paymaster for the release of assistance.
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