MANILA, Philippines — Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto on Sunday announced that the city government would provide a subsidy to its residents not covered by the national government’s social amelioration program (SAP).

In a virtual briefing, Sotto said the city government listed 206,000 families in their city for the SAP. However, only 93,000 families were approved.

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Under the SAP, low-income households will receive up to P8,000 in cash per month a part of the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Families will receive the amount for two months, meaning qualified families can receive up to P16,000.

While Sotto said that the P16,000 cash subsidy will still be a big help to approved low-income families, many families in the city would not be able to receive a subsidy.

“So what we will do here in Pasig City — I have seen that other LGUs, even in the provinces, will do this — is that we will have a Pasig supplemental SAP,” Sotto said in Filipino.

“Everyone who is in need who is not in the DSWD list will be taken care of by the Pasig local government,” he added.

The amount, however, will not be as much as the national government’s SAP.

“We can’t afford the amount of P8,000 for two months — or P16,000. We can’t afford that big an amount. But we will do whatever we can,” Sotto said.

“We will look for funds so that we could realign. Or we will put out the money that Pasig has in its trust fund, with the permission of our City Council, which we know will also help us,” he added.

Sotto said that the city was looking into providing P8,000 per family under its own version of the SAP. This amount, however, is still not final as the city budget still needs to be considered.

“What we’re doing is studying the budget — the cash position — of the city so that we will know how much help the city can give to support those not in the list of the DSWD national office,” he said.

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