NOTE: This story was first published in The Bohol Chronicle’s Sunday print edition.

Forty-four towns in Bohol have completed their payouts for the government’s cash assistance to poor and low income families, a report shared by the Department of Social Welfare and Development dated May 11 noontime bares.

With only 4 towns left cramming to beat the deadline after the government put up a 10-day extension to provinces which found out that five day payouts can be impossible to beat, the government has already handed out a total of 1,049, 952,000.00, or 96.30% of the total P1,090, 260,000.00 allocated for Bohol.

Bohol’s feat however pales in comparison to Siquijor which has completed the payout of 117,306, 000.00 for the 19,551 family beneficiaries, making it the first province in the Central Visayas to do so.

Siquijor and Bohol however are incomparable as Siquijor has only 6 towns to look up to, while Bohol has 47 towns and a city.

In fact, Siquijor across the Visayas is the smallest province compared to Negros Oriental which has 25 towns, Bohol which has 48, and Cebu which has 53.

After Siquijor’s 100%, getting satisfactory ratings by the Department of Interior and Local Government is Bohol with 96% of its LGUS completing the pay-out and Negros Oriental, like Bohol which has reached 96% too, paying out 23 of their 25 towns.  

That’s ame report showed Bohol paying out to 174,992 family beneficiaries. 

For Cebu, DSWD records show that 34 towns have done pay-outs with 457,394 families now aided with P6,000.00.

Of the government’s P3,589,308,000.00 for Cebu, it has released P 2,744,364.000.00 as of May 11, records show.

As of May 11, among Bohol towns which have been nearing completion of their payouts are Bien Unido with a payout rate of 99.60 or 2,998 beneficiaries paid, Loon which has 6,500 beneficiaries paid of the 6629 target beneficiaries 0r 98.05 percent.

Maribojoc had 2968 beneficiaries paid of the 3323 target or 89.29 percent and Tagbilaran City which has paid out 12,725 beneficiaries of the 18,767 target beneficiaries or attaining 67.81 percent.    

  Of the three towns a Tagbilaran City, about 6,549 Boholano families that remain unpaid. 

As to the mandated liquidation of the SAP funds, around 8 local government units in Bohol have completed in submitting the proper requirements, according to the DSWD.

This is 16.17 percent of all towns here, liquidating the total SAP pay outs of P129,114,000.00. (rahchiu/PIA-7/Bohol)