MANILA, Philippines—As many as 1.26 million workers have been given the initial P10.1 billion cash aid under the government’s Small Business Wage Subsidy (SBWS) program for poor and low to middle-income families amid the COVID-19 pandemic. MLhuillier Kwarta Padala, through the Development Bank of the Philippines, is the partner-remittance center of the SSS in the disbursement of wage subsidies to unbanked beneficiaries. Through these, around 2.2 million employees, 65% of the 3.4-million target, have been approved for the program. ApplicationThe first tranche of wage subsidies began on April 30 and will be distributed until May 15, while the second tranche is scheduled for May 16 to 31. The DOF earlier said that around 26.4 million Filipino families from the country’s most vulnerable sectors would be receiving aid from the government’s subsidy programs, which includes the SBWS program and the social amelioration program.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer May 08, 2020 08:15 UTC