Catanduanes completed the distribution of the financial assistance provided by the national government under the Social Amelioration Program (SAP) before the end of the third extension last Sunday, May 10, 2020.
Viga was the last municipality to finish the SAP distribution, handing out the last envelope of P5,000 to its recipient before 5 P.M. of May 8. Three days earlier, Viga’s accomplishment was only 78.29% while Panganiban’s was higher at 96.27%.
At the end of the original deadline of April 30, only the town of Bagamanoc headed by Mayor Remegio Villaluna had a 100% accomplishment, with other 10 towns still distributing the cash assistance to beneficiaries. Virac was the tail-ender at the time, with only 10.89% of its supposed recipients receiving the aid.
Overall, all 35,835 recipients who are not members of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Progrm (4Ps) received a total of P179,080,000.00.
However, only 88.58% of the 4Ps members, or 13,997, got their SAP assistance totaling P51,089,050.00.
In the entire region, 111 out of 114 local government units managed to complete the aid distribution, with Sorsogon as the only underperforming province at 99.92% as the towns of Bulan, Magallanes and Prieto Diaz all failed to complete their tasks by the May 10 deadline.
Under Republic Act No. 11469 or the Bayanihan to Heal As One Act, 18 million low-income households affected by the COVID-19 pandemic are entitled to receive an emergency aid of P5,000 to P8,000, depending on the minimum wage of the region, for the months of April and May.