Malacañang acknowledged on Monday that the Department of Social Welfare and Development has been "slow" in distributing the second tranche of cash assistance to low-income households and other vulnerable sectors under the Social Amelioration Program of the government amid the new coronavirus pandemic.

In a virtual press briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said there were 3,371,494 beneficiaries who received the second tranche, with the corresponding amount of P10.1 billion out of P100 billion allotted by the government.

"It's really slow. I can say that the Palace felt that the process for the second tranche is slow," he said.

He noted that the DSWD has given many reasons for the delay.

Asked when the government could complete the distribution of the second tranche of SAP, Roque said, "According to the DSWD, until the end of July...the Palace will hold DSWD to that."

As part of its assistance to the poor Filipinos who lost their income during the lockdown from mid-March to May, the government has earmarked billions of funds for the two tranches of cash assistance amounting between P5,000 to P8,000 for each beneficiary depending on the minimum wage rate in each region.

The government, through the DSWD, promised to automate the distribution of second tranche with the hope to fast-track it.

However, when most parts of the country are under the general or modified general community quarantine, the DSWD has not yet completed the release of the cash aid.

Under GCQ or MGCQ, considered as less restrictive quarantine classifications, most businesses are allowed to operate. Celerina Monte/DMS