Special Guidelines on the Implementation of the Provisions of Republic Act No. 11494 or the "Bayanihan to Recover as One Act" Concerning DSWD

November 13, 2020

DSWD MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR NO. 30, S. 2020

SPECIAL GUIDELINES ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROVISIONS OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 11494 OR THE "BAYANIHAN TO RECOVER AS ONE ACT" CONCERNING DSWD

I. RATIONALE

After the passage of the Republic Act (R.A.) No. 11494 or the "Bayanihan to Recover as One Act," the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) issued Memorandum Circular (M.C.) No. 22, series of 2020 on 05 October 2020 to serve as the guidelines of the Central Office, Field Offices (FOs), and other partners, in the implementation of the provisions of R.A. No. 11494 pertinent to the DSWD. HTcADC

Last October 23, 2020, the Executive Secretary issued a Memorandum providing for the authority of the concerned agencies, including the DSWD, in the implementation of R.A. No. 11494. In the same Memorandum, the issuance of an Implementing Guidelines of R.A. No. 11494 was sanctioned setting certain parameters on the implementation of the social protection programs under said law.

To reflect the parameters set in the Implementing Guidelines of R.A. No. 11494, this Circular is hereby issued to repeal M.C. No. 22, series of 2020, and to serve as the new Guidelines in the implementation of R.A. No. 11494.

II. OBJECTIVE

This Circular intends to repeal DSWD M.C. No. 22, series of 2020, and thereby govern the Implementation of the R.A. No. 11494 by the DSWD, to conform with the Implementing Guidelines of R.A. No. 11494 issued by the Office of the President.

III. LEGAL BASIS

Under R.A. No. 11494, the DSWD has been directed to undertake the following:

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SEC. 4. COVID-19 Response and Recovery Interventions. — x x x

(f) Provision of any of the following subsidies:

(1) An emergency subsidy of Five thousand pesos (P5,000) to Eight thousand pesos (P8,000) to affected low income households in areas under granular lockdown and to households with recently returned Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs): PROVIDED, That the subsidy shall be computed based on the prevailing regional minimum wage rates: PROVIDED, FURTHER, That the subsidy received from the current Conditional Cash Transfer Program and rice subsidy shall be taken into consideration in the computation of emergency subsidy, as provided for in this Act: PROVIDED, FURTHERMORE, That the vetting and validation of beneficiaries of the Social Amelioration Program (SAP), and the related liquidation report thereto shall be simplified to expedite the distribution of the subsidy: PROVIDED, FINALLY, That a definite and actual list of beneficiaries of the SAP shall be submitted to Congress;

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(3) Emergency subsidy to low income households who are qualified but were not granted such subsidy as mandated under Section 4(c) of R.A. No. 11469.

Any subsidy program shall, as far as practicable, be implemented through a social protection distribution system that embeds secure and privacy- preserving data capture, verification, deduplication, payroll generation, grievance, and payout using digital technologies. For this purpose, the payment of necessary transaction fees for the last mile delivery of subsidies to qualified beneficiaries is hereby authorized;

(pp) x x x PROVIDED, FURTHERMORE, That the following items in the budget shall be prioritized for augmentation:

(8) Under various DSWD programs such as, but not limited to, Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS), distribution of food and non-food items, livelihood assistance grants, and supplemental feeding program for daycare children;

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(10) Under Allocations to LGUs

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The DSWD and [Department of Labor and Employment] DOLE shall be allowed, through Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), to transfer funds to the LGUs and allow said LGUs to facilitate the distribution of the Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens (SocPen), AICS and Food and Non-Food Items (FNFI), CAMP, TUPAD, and the AKAP for OFWs;

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(xx) "Implementation of an expanded and enhanced 4Ps, responsive to the needs posed by the crisis, and provision of an assistance program, whether in cash or non-cash, whichever is more practicable, where the Secretary of DSWD or the Secretary of DOLE, when relevant, shall transfer cash, cash vouchers, or goods through the LGUs or directly to households who have no incomes or savings to draw from, including households working in the informal economy and those who are not currently recipients of the current 4Ps, of an amount adequate to restore capacity to purchase basic food and other essential items after the duration of the quarantine. To carry out this subsection, the Secretary of DSWD and the Secretary of DOLE may approve the temporary emergency standards of eligibility and level of benefits";

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Section 10. Appropriations and Standby Fund. —

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(m) Six billion pesos (P6,000,000,000) to finance DSWD programs such as, but not limited to, AICS, emergency subsidy to cater for areas which will be placed on granular lockdown, Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) for informal sectors not being catered by DOLE, distribution of food and non-food items, livelihood assistance grants, and supplemental feeding program for daycare children: PROVIDED, FURTHER, That funds of the AICS program can also be utilized to address COVID-19 response and recovery and to procure food packs subject to the existing circulars of DSWD";

IV. DEFINITION OF TERMS

For purposes of this Circular, the following terms shall be operationally defined as follows:

A. Final certified/clean list — refers to the list of beneficiaries (DSWD SAP 2 Database), who were determined as eligible and unique/without duplicates after the deduplication process and were processed for payment by the DSWD during the Tranche 2 implementation of SAP, as sanctioned by PNP-DILG-DBM-DOLE-DSWD-DA-DTI-DOF-DND-AFP Joint Memorandum Circular No. 2, Series of 2020 (JMC No. 2, Series of 2020).

B. Granular Lockdown — micro-level quarantine, singularly or collectively, in the level of barangay, block, purok, street, subdivision/village, residential building, or house, that are tagged as "critical zones (or CrZ)" by Department of the Interior and Local Government and Regional Inter-Agency Task Force (RIATF): 1

B.1 Barangay — a small territorial and administrative unit forming the most local level of government;

B.2 Block — a parcel of land bounded on the sides by streets occupied by or intended for buildings;

B.3 Purok — a division of within a barangay usually composed of twenty to fifty or more households;

B.4 Street — refers to a single path, road, or thoroughfare between two places where houses, buildings and establishments are found in a community;

B.5 Subdivision/Village — refers to a group of residential plots/houses, it may also refer to a compound, and a gated community, village, among others; aScITE

B.6 Residential Building — refers to a permanent/temporary enclosed construction or physical structure over a plot of land, it can also include condominium, tenement, dormitory, townhouse, multiple-door apartment;

B.7 House — a single-unit residential building or enclosed physical structure over a plot of land, it can also include condominium units, townhouses, apartments, dorm unit/room.

C. Households — for purposes of the implementation of R.A. No. 11494, households shall refer to families who are composed of a father, mother, and/or children, 2 including all individuals who live under the authority of another by virtue of relationship by consanguinity (blood) or affinity, and includes the domestic workers of the family; Provided that a solo parent who has custody of and/or living with his/her children is considered as a family;

D. Recently Returned Undocumented OFWs — shall pertain to migrant workers or overseas Filipino workers who are undocumented, or those who are considered as irregular workers, who have returned to/were repatriated or (will return) to the Philippines, within the period of the effectivity 3 of R.A. No. 11494 (i.e., September 14 to December 19, 2020), voluntarily or by reason of termination, layoff, retrenchment or job displacement: 4

D.1 Undocumented or Irregular OFWs — refer to individuals who entered a foreign land "to be engaged, are engaged or have been engaged in a renumerated activity in a state of which they are not legal residents," 5 but: (a) without legal documents; (b) (with incomplete documents); or (3) one who stayed with expired or unrenewed documents (e.g., expired visa or unrenewed working documents).

V. RESPONSE AND RECOVERY INTERVENTIONS UNDER THE DSWD

1. Emergency Subsidy

The provision of emergency subsidy of Five Thousand pesos (P5,000) to Eight Thousand pesos (P8,000), computed based on the prevailing regional minimum wage rates, shall be implemented, subject to the provisions of R.A. No. 11494.

Provided that, the emergency subsidy shall be provided only once, subject to an exception, to the eligible beneficiaries with the subsidy received from the current Conditional Cash Transfer Program and rice subsidy taken into consideration in the computation.

The target beneficiaries hereof shall be as stated in Item VI and the details of implementation as laid down in Item VII.

2. Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS)

The provision of AICS shall be governed by the existing guidelines of the DSWD as discussed in Item VII. Implementing Procedures pertaining to AICS.

Provided that pursuant to Section 10 (m) of R.A. No. 11494, the funds of the AICS program can also be utilized x x x to procure food packs subject to the existing circulars of DSWD.

In accordance with R.A. No. 11494, transfer of funds to the LGUs, that will be done through the execution of a memorandum of agreement, may be resorted to in the implementation of AICS.

3. Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP)

Each eligible family may avail one of the following:

3.1. Livelihood Assistance Grants (LAG)

a. The LAG is a financial assistance granted to eligible low-income families belonging to the informal sectors whose livelihoods were affected by the community quarantine, and can be used as a (1) support to the preferred micro-enterprise activities of the beneficiary; or, (2) augmentation to the expenses on pre-employment, food, as well as transportation allowance of the beneficiary during the first month of employment.

b. The scope, target beneficiaries, pre-requisites, time and motion, and other matters concerning the provision of LAG in accordance with DSWD M.C. No. 19, series of 2020 or the Special Guidelines on the Provision of LAG, shall be strictly observed.

3.2. Seed Capital Fund (SCF)

c. The SCF is used as a start-up capital to purchase small tools, raw materials, and common service facilities such as machinery, equipment, and plant/s needed in starting or expanding a micro-enterprise. The SCF shall only be provided once per program participant.

d. The Implementation Process for Individual Referral and Walk-in Clients of DSWD M.C. 22, series of 2019 or the Comprehensive Guidelines in the Implementation of Sustainable Livelihood Program shall be applied for the provision of SCF.

3.3. Employment Assistance Fund (EAF)

e. The EAF is a financial assistance provided to individuals pursuing a guaranteed employment for the following: 1) processing of employment documentary requirements; 2) payment of medical examinations; 3) purchase of basic employment tools and materials; and 4) transportation allowance, meal allowance, and board and lodging until the first 15 days of employment. HEITAD

f. The Implementation Process for Individual Referral and Walk-in Clients of DSWD M.C. 22, series of 2019 or the Comprehensive Guidelines in the Implementation of Sustainable Livelihood Program shall be applied for the provision of EAF.

4. Supplementary Feeding Program (SFP) and Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens (SocPen)

The implementation of the SFP and the SocPen shall be governed by their respective guidelines, subject to the provision of R.A. No. 11494 where transfer of funds to LGUs is authorized for SocPen. Provided that the authority to transfer funds for SFP shall be subject to any further guidance from the President.

5. Food and Non-Food Items

The provision of food and non-food items (FNFI) by the Department through the Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG), shall subsist as augmentation support to the regular provision/supply of the LGUs, based on existing guidelines.

VI. TARGET BENEFICIARIES OF EMERGENCY SUBSIDY

The target beneficiaries of the emergency subsidy shall remain to be those belonging to the informal economy sector that are considered as falling within the low-income category, or those without savings to draw from and are continuously suffering from the economic disruption brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Provided that under R.A. No. 11494, only the low-income families:

1) who are residing in areas under granular lockdown, as defined;

2) with recently returned family member who is an Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), as defined;

3) qualified but were not granted subsidy under R.A. No. 11469 (per Sec. 4, subparagraph f (3) of R.A. No. 11494.

shall be eligible for payment under subparagraph f (1), and f (3), including those who will be beneficiaries of any modalities of the SLP.

Provided that in identifying these "low-income families," the following parameters set by Implementing Guidelines shall be adopted thus excluding in its coverage, the families with the following characteristics, viz.:

1) Households living in gated condominium, communities, and subdivisions;

2) Households with at least one (1) four-wheel vehicle, except Public Utility Vehicles (PUVs) granted with franchise by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB);

3) Households with at least one (1) member working in government (national or local) under an employment contract, whether occupying a plantilla position or under service contracts.

Each family, living together in a single house or unit, may be entitled to emergency subsidy, if they are considered low-income families.

As a rule, the beneficiaries who were included among those profiled under M.C. Nos. 09, 14 and 18, through the Social Amelioration Card (SAC), and are already included in the final certified/clean list of beneficiaries of the DSWD during the Tranche 2 implementation of R.A. No. 11469, shall be deemed eligible except those who fall in the exclusions per enumeration above.

Other eligible beneficiaries who are not in the final certified/clean list shall be identified by the LGUs, except those who are subject of grievance filed with the DSWD.

VII. IMPLEMENTATION PROCEDURES FOR EMERGENCY SUBSIDY and AICS

A. PROVISION OF EMERGENCY SUBSIDY

1. Identification/Validation of Beneficiaries6

The identification and/or validation of beneficiaries shall be the responsibility of the LGU. Thus, in order to expedite identification and validation, the DSWD shall utilize its existing lists and/or databases by sharing the beneficiary information with the LGUs. Also, concerned LGUs shall be required to submit the encoded list of other 7 eligible beneficiaries of R.A. No. 11469, to the DSWD FOs.

In all cases, qualified beneficiaries who are not in the Final Certified List shall be identified and profiled by the LGUs using the SAC form, which may pertain to the old barcoded or new QR-coded SAC forms cascaded by the Information Communication and Technology Management Service (ICTMS). Provided that, Memorandum Circular No. 28, series of 2020 shall equally apply to the requirement and use of SAC forms in the implementation of R.A. No. 11494.

All identified beneficiaries, shall be certified and endorsed by the Municipal/City Social Welfare Development Office (M/CSWDO) and approved by Local Chief Executive to the concerned Field Office prior to the processing of payroll.

Provided that, the DSWD Central and Field Offices may likewise accept lists of beneficiaries for profiling and/or assessment to ensure that grievances are addressed.

For this purpose, the creation of the needed job order/contract of service positions for the implementation of R.A. 11494 by the Field Offices is hereby approved, and the DSWD Regional Directors are hereby authorized to hire and assign the personnel complement required, through special order or memorandum, to competent team/s in the DSWD Field Offices (FOs) to perform the task of validation. Provided further, that the Human Resource Management and Development Service (HRMDS), shall prepare and cascade separate implementing procedures on how the emergency hiring of personnel for R.A. No. 11494 shall be facilitated.

1.1 Granular Lockdown

The final certified list of beneficiaries used in the implementation of the ESP of the DSWD shall be the primary reference of the eligible beneficiaries.

The target beneficiaries of emergency subsidy under granular lockdown shall be limited to those who are physically residing in the barangay, block, purok, street, subdivision/village, residential building, or house placed under granular lockdown categorized as "critical zones" or (CrZ), as "concurred by the relevant regional counterpart body of the Inter Agency Task Force," 8 subject to their internal guidelines.

Provided further that the requirement that the beneficiaries are residing in areas under granular lockdown will not apply to families with recently returned OFWs or those who are additional beneficiaries, under Sec. 4, subparagraph f (3), for them to be eligible for emergency subsidy.

Finally, the concerned C/MSWDO shall submit to the DSWD FOs the list of beneficiaries under granular lockdown, with certification, 9 using the attached template (See Annex "A").

1.2 Recently Returned OFWs

Generally, the Department of Labor Employment (DOLE)/Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA)/National Reintegration Center for OFWs (NRCO) provide assistance to recently returned OFWs.

For purposes of R.A. No. 11494 however, the low-income family with a family member who is an OFW shall be provided with an emergency assistance in the amount based on the prescribed maximum regional emergency subsidy if the OFW meets the following requirements: ATICcS

a. Undocumented or irregular OFW endorsed to or served by DSWD through either its: (i) Social Welfare Attachés in a foreign post; or (ii) DSWD NAIA Team as member of the National Task Force One-Stop-Shop at the airport (personnel serving in the Government one-stop-shop) for COVID-19;

b. Arrived in the Philippines during the effectivity of R.A. No. 11494;

c. Voluntarily returned or returned/repatriated to the Philippines because of work displacement; and

d. Not catered by the DOLE/OWWA/NRCO, as may be proved by a certification from any of said agency, or deduplication process by the DSWD, or through any certification/process which is more convenient.

1.3 Additional Beneficiaries under R.A. No. 11469

For beneficiaries under Sec. 4, subparagraph f (3) of R.A. No. 11494, who are qualified but were not granted subsidy as mandated under Section 4 (c) of R.A. No. 11469 hence, not yet in the final certified/clean list of beneficiaries of the DSWD, the following procedures shall be followed:

i. In accordance with M.C. No. 14, series of 2020, the barangay shall identify the qualified beneficiaries that were not included in the submitted list of beneficiaries to the DSWD pursuant to R.A. No. 11469;

ii. the eligibility of the beneficiaries shall be certified by the M/CSWDO and approved by Local Chief Executive; 10

iii. The list of beneficiaries shall be forwarded to the concerned FO for deduplication, and the clean list of beneficiaries will be processed for payroll;

iv. The disbursement process shall be governed by subparagraph (4) of this item.

To reiterate, the additional beneficiaries are not limited to those residing in areas under granular lockdown but may be of nationwide coverage, provided they are not served under R.A. No. 11469. ETHIDa

1.4 Beneficiaries required to accomplish SAC Forms

Only the following beneficiaries shall be required to fill out the SAC forms:

a. First tranche beneficiaries of R.A. No. 11469 who have not filled-out the SAC form or those who are not in the list/s submitted by LGUs to the DSWD;

b. Beneficiaries not appearing in the Final Certified List;

c. Families of the Recently Returned OFWs; and

d. Additional beneficiaries under subparagraph f (3).

In all cases, prior to the processing of payment, the additional beneficiaries shall undergo deduplication 11 by the DSWD based on existing and applicable rules. For this purpose, the SAC forms of the additional beneficiaries, shall be encoded by the LGUs using the prescribed encoding template, except those directly assessed by the DSWD FOs as the designated validation team at the FO may likewise do the encoding of the SAC forms of concerned beneficiaries.

The encoded SAC forms shall be uploaded by the LGUs through the SAC Encoding Application.

2. Amount of Subsidy

Based on the threshold and computation as stated under the R.A. No. 11469 12 and Joint M.C. No. 1, series of 2020, the subsidy shall also be computed based on the prevailing regional minimum wage rates. Further, the subsidy received from the current Conditional Cash Transfer Program and rice subsidy shall be taken into consideration in the computation of emergency subsidy.

Thus, beneficiaries who are enrolled in the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) shall receive a lower amount of emergency subsidy by deducting the cash grants (e.g., health grants, rice subsidy, and educational grants) from the allowed Emergency Subsidy within the region. Finally, therefore, the table of subsidy presented in M.C. 14, series of 2020 shall be adjusted accordingly in a separate issuance.

3. Distribution Process and Payment Scheme

In furtherance of the goal to expeditiously distribute the subsidy, the payment schemes reflected under the DSWD M.C. Nos. 9, 14 and 18, series of 2020 shall be enforced, subject to the observance of the following significant processes:

a. The funds for the implementation of R.A. No. 11494 may be downloaded to the FOs to facilitate the processing of payment to the beneficiaries. Provided that the Central Office (CO) is not precluded from retaining funds at the CO, as may be necessary, to assist in the implementation.

b. The schemes/modes of payment may include, but not limited to: (i) transfer of funds to LGUs through a duly executed Memorandum of Agreement; (ii) electronic or digital payment; or (iii) direct cash payout, which either the FOs or the CO may resort to in the distribution of emergency subsidy. Provided that the FOs or CO shall be allowed to choose any or simultaneously resort to all of the available schemes as deemed fit, if warranted;

c. Beneficiaries who are included in the final certified list used in the implementation of the ESP of the DSWD shall be presumed eligible to receive the emergency subsidy and may readily be paid or processed for payment, provided they are physically residing in the areas under granular lockdown;

d. Only the list of additional beneficiaries under Sec. 4, subparagraph f (3) shall be subject to deduplication with those covered and paid under R.A. No. 11469.

Provided that, when necessary, the OFWs may likewise undergo deduplication with those paid by DOLE/OWWA/NRCO as stated in Item VII. A.1.2.d of this Circular.

B. LIMITATION(S) ON THE IMPLEMENTATION

1. R.A. No. 11494 is not to be interpreted as "SAP 3" or successor of SAP 1 and 2 under R.A. No. 11469, or the continuation thereof.

2. A family shall only be provided with emergency subsidy once regardless of the number of times that their area has been declared under granular lockdown, and regardless of any extension in the declared lockdown.

3. A family shall receive only one subsidy even if the area where they are residing has been placed under granular lockdown and an OFW member of said family has recently returned to the Philippines.

4. An additional beneficiary under Sec. 4, subparagraph f (3), shall only be eligible to receive the emergency subsidy equivalent to one-month. However, such beneficiary who is under granular lockdown, shall be allowed to receive an additional subsidy by virtue of lockdown under Sec. 4, subparagraph f (1).

5. Cities, provinces, regions, or large-scale lockdown, shall not be eligible to receive the emergency subsidy.

6. Beneficiaries given an emergency subsidy due to the lockdown shall no longer be subjected to post-validation under M.C. 09, series of 2020.

C. PROVISION OF ASSISTANCE TO INDIVIDUALS IN CRISIS SITUATION

To comply with the objective of R.A. No. 11494 "to reduce the adverse impact of COVID-19 on the socioeconomic well-being of all Filipinos through provision of assistance, subsidies and other forms of socioeconomic relief," the existing guidelines of the DSWD shall be observed shall be observed in the implementation of the AICS during the effectivity of R.A. No. 11494.

Thus, the following shall primarily be governing:

1. The menu of services under AICS shall all be available.

2. The assistance may be in the form of cash, voucher with monetary equivalent or guarantee letter.

3. The rate of assistance and the maximum amount allowed shall be based on the threshold specified under M.C. No. 11, series of 2019, as amended by M.C. No. 24, series of 2020 and the eligibility of beneficiaries shall depend on the assessment of the social worker.

4. The menu of assistance under AICS may be availed of even by those who already received emergency subsidy, as may be justified by the social worker based on the assessment of the circumstance of the beneficiaries.

5. The beneficiaries of AICS may include individuals and families in crisis, including those who are excluded from the coverage of the emergency subsidy based on the parameters set in the Implementing Guidelines, as may be assessed and found eligible for AICS, by the social worker;

6. Provided that recipients of emergency subsidy shall not be disqualified from receiving AICS, subject to assessment.

7. The process and documentary requirements in the provision of AICS shall be governed by its guidelines.

VIII. INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS

The roles and responsibilities of the different offices, bureaus, services, and units of the DSWD shall be those enumerated in M.C. Nos. 09, 14 and 18, including any other issuances, as long as applicable.

Further, all offices, bureaus, units and services of the DSWD, including the Field Offices, shall ensure compliance with the Memorandum issued by the Secretary dated 4 November 2020 referring to the Memorandum from the Presidential Management Staff stating the directive from the President to the Office of the Executive Secretary and the Anti-Red Tape Authority, to wit: AIDSTE

"a. Enjoin all government agencies to expedite the release of food and financial assistance to the people; and

b. Reduce the processing time for permits and applications from three to two working days or less."

A. DSWD CENTRAL OFFICE (CO)

1. The Social Amelioration Program-Special Working Group shall oversee the overall implementation of this Circular and collegially resolve issues related thereto;

2. Targeting of beneficiaries shall be facilitated by the Policy Development and Planning Bureau (PDPB) in coordination with the Finance and Management Service (FMS) and the Field Offices;

3. The Legal Services, shall assist in the preparation or review, of the following memorandum of agreements: (a) agreement that will bind the partner implementers, such as but not limited to, digital or financial service providers (FSPs) and the LGUs (including the agreement with the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao); (b) data sharing agreement by and between the LGUs; (c) data sharing agreement with National Government Offices/Agencies; and (d) any and all supplemental agreements needed to further the implementation of existing contracts;

4. Provision/consolidation of the final certified list and the clean list of additional beneficiaries (subparagraph f (3)) through the ICTMS;

5. The Procurement and Management Service shall initiate a consultation meeting with the Government Procurement Policy Board to provide guidance to the program owners on the following:

a. As to whether the dealings with the FSPs during the pandemic shall undergo procurement;

b. As to the procurement of food packs at the FO level; and

c. As to the availability of Negotiated Procurement option for the implementation of the SFP.

6. Facilitation of the necessary process/es for the transfer and release of funds to the FOs through the Program Management Bureau (PMB) and the FMS, viz.:

a. Based on the final targets of beneficiaries from the PDPB, the PMB shall request FMS to facilitate the Sub-Allotment Advice and the corresponding Notice of Transfer of Allocation of the needed funds to the FOs.

b. Any FO appealing for fund augmentation shall submit the fund augmentation request to the PMB.

c. The FMS shall process the approved fund augmentation request subject to the provisions of the applicable FM guidelines.

The terms and conditions pertaining the transfer of funds to LGUs or engagement of FSPs by the FOs shall be contained in the Memorandum of Agreement that shall be executed as a precondition to the engagement;

7. Provision by the PDPB and the FMS of the uniform reporting templates for the physical and financial accomplishments of the Department's implementation of R.A. No. 11494 in compliance with the preference of the Office of the President and the Congress and upon the effectivity of this Circular;

8. The existing SAP monitoring and databases by the PDPB for R.A. 11469 may be utilized with enhancements, if needed;

9. The consolidation and consistency of the SAP reports shall be ensured by the FMS, PMB, Agency Operation Center, and PDPB — who shall spearhead the consistency and reconciliation of the data;

10. Augment personnel workforce upon request of the FOs;

11. To ensure responsiveness of the DSWD to concerns of stakeholders, the following shall be provided by the responsible office upon request, or as needed:

 

	RESPONSIBLE OFFICE
STATUS REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SAP	PDPB
CONSOLIDATED FINAL CERTIFIED/CLEAN LIST OF BENEFICIARIES	ICTMS
CONSOLIDATED FINAL LIST OF PAID BENEFICIARIES	FO to FMS to AOC

 

B. DSWD FIELD OFFICES (FOs)

The roles and responsibilities of the FOs shall be those enumerated in M.C. Nos. 09, 14 and 18, series of 2020, including any other issuances, as long as applicable. Thus, the deduplication of the list of the additional beneficiaries or the OFWs, when necessary, shall be done by the Information and Communication Information Communication Technology Management Unit (ICTMU) of the FOs in accordance with M.C. No. 18, and any other applicable issuance.

In addition, thereto, the FOs shall:

1. Securing a (certified true) copy of the resolution of the RIATF-placing an area under granular lockdown and identifying the "critical zones."

2. Submit an implementation plan within seven (7) from the signing of this Circular.

3. Submit to the AOC, the daily and weekly reports which shall contain the status of implementation of this Circular, based on the format and requirements set by the PDPB.

4. Issue a deduplication certification, and a list of the deduplication results with the proper notation of the beneficiary's exclusion (e.g., double entries, duplicate subsidies, 4Ps beneficiaries, etc.).

C. LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS (LGUs)

The LGUs shall undertake the following:

1. Conduct the distribution of the emergency subsidy in case there will be transfer of funds, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the memorandum of agreement;

2. Assist the DSWD in the distribution of emergency subsidy in the case of direct payout or payment through FSPs, by providing logistical support, as needed, for the payout, including but not limited to on-site facilities, venue, tools, equipment, electric facilities and other similar support;

3. Identify and prepare the venue where the payout will be conducted taking into consideration the minimum health standards set by the IATF and if needed, provide the necessary shuttle services, assistance and logistical support to the DSWD and the beneficiaries especially those belonging to the vulnerable sector;

4. Immediate posting in all LGU official websites, social media accounts, and at conspicuous places the list of beneficiaries who already received the emergency subsidy limited to the following information: (a) given and last names of the registered head of family; and (b) barangay and district;

5. Submit a written report on any concern/issue encountered at the time of the distribution for the purpose of improving the subsequent delivery of the programs and services of the DSWD through the LGUs; and AaCTcI

6. Perform other functions or activities consistent with this Circular and other relevant issuances, related policies or laws.

IX. MONITORING, REPORTING, AND EVALUATION

The monitoring of the implementation of R.A. No. 11494 shall be through the SAP-SWG as assisted by the PDPB. The latter shall ensure that all daily and weekly reports shall be submitted and available as requested and as needed. Daily reports shall be sent to the DSWD AOC ([email protected]), copy furnished the PDPB ([email protected]) on or before 12:00nn of every given day, and weekly reports shall be submitted on or before Saturday, 12:00nn.

The overall evaluation of the implementation shall be spearheaded by the PDPB in coordination with the concerned OBSUs to ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of the implementation.

X. REPEALING CLAUSE

This Circular shall supersede Memorandum Circular No. 22, series of 2020 upon the effectivity hereof. Provided that all payments to beneficiaries made prior to the repeal hereof shall be valid.

In case of conflict with any circular/s issued prior or subsequent hereto, this Circular shall prevail.

XI. RETROACTIVITY CLAUSE

The provisions of this Circular shall be retroactively applied from the effectivity of R.A. No. 11494, or 14 September 2020 subject to Item X of this Circular.

XII. EFFECTIVITY CLAUSE

This Circular shall be effective upon signing and shall remain valid until completion of the delivery of emergency subsidy and other identified social welfare services under R.A. No. 11494, to identified target beneficiaries.

Signed on the 13th day of November 2020, in Quezon City.

(SGD.) ROLANDO JOSELITO D. BAUTISTA

Secretary

ANNEX A

Bayanihan 1 Beneficiaries Physically Residing in Granular Lockdown Areas

ANNEX B

Certification of Beneficiaries under Granular Lockdown

ANNEX B-1

Certification of Additional Beneficiaries

ANNEX B-2

Certification of Additional BeneficiariesR.A. No. 11494)

ANNEX C

SAC Encoding Template

 

Footnotes

1. Based on Memorandum Circular No. 2, series of 2020, IATF-EID National Task Force COVID-19.

2. May include children living among themselves, with the older sibling acting as head of the family and caring for the younger sibling.

3. Section 18, R.A. No. 11494. Effectivity. — Except as otherwise specifically provided herein, this Act shall be in full force and effect until the next adjournment of the Eighteenth Congress on December 19, 2020. This Act shall take effect immediately upon its publication in a newspaper of general circulation or in the Official Gazette: Provided, That Section 4 (cc) of this Act shall be deemed to be in effect since Republic Act No. 11469 expired.

4. Any of said causes may be due to disability and/or health/medical conditions.

5. R.A. 8042, "Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995."

6.Please see: Annex "C" for template of encoding.

7. Beneficiaries of R.A. 11469 who were paid by the LGUs during the first tranche but were not paid in the second tranche for being not covered by Tranche 2 implementation per JMC No. 2, Series of 2020.

8. IATF-EID National Task Force COVID-19 Memorandum Circular No. 2, series of 2020; Section 2, Executive Order No. 112. Imposing an Enhanced Community Quarantine in High-risk Geographic Areas of the Philippines and a General Community Quarantine in the Rest of the Country from 01 to 15 May 2020, Adopting the Omnibus Guidelines on the Implementation Thereof, and for Other Purposes.

9.Please see: Annexes "B" and "B-1" as recommended templates. Note that the LGU/s may opt to issue its own certification.

10.Please see: Annexes "B", "B-1" and "B-2" as recommended templates. Note that the LGU/s may opt to issue its own certification.

11. Governed by Memorandum Circular No. 17, as amended by Memorandum Circular No. 18, series of 2020 or any other future issuance concerning deduplication. In the conduct of the deduplication procedure, the FOs shall ensure that there are no duplicates among the additional beneficiaries Sec. 4, f (3) and those in the existing lists of R.A. No. 11469 beneficiaries.

12. "Bayanihan to Heal as One Act."