P30K cash aid, loan moratorium for Taal victims pushed in Senate
MANILA, Philippines — To help those affected by Taal volcano eruption, senators have made various proposals, and one of them is providing P30,000 cash assistance to those families.
Senator Risa Hontiveros said the P30,000 cash aid could be used on daily subsistence of families inside and outside of evacuation centers.
“Pantawid-upa at pantawid-sahod — ito ang tulong ng cash aid sa mga nawalan ng tirahan at hanapbuhay dahil sa pagsabog ng bulkang Taal,” Hontiveros said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Hindi pautang kundi tulong mismo,” she said. “Huwag na nating ibaon pa sa utang ang mga kababayan nating naging biktima.”
Aside from urging the Department of Social Welfare and Development to mobilize funds for the Emergency Cash Transfer and Emergency Shelter Assistance, the senator said President Rodrigo Duterte may also source the funding for cash grants from the current budget.
Hontiveros said department heads may also realign their budget, which they can recover after Congress approves the P30 billion supplemental budget being proposed by the President for Taal victims.
READ: Duterte urges Congress to expedite passage of P30-B additional fund for Taal
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, meanwhile, sought Congress’ nod on his proposed one-year moratorium on loan amortizations for residents affected by the Taal Volcano eruption.
In Senate Resolution No. 289 filed Monday, Gatchalian urged the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), the Social Security System (SSS) and the Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG Fund) to extend calamity or emergency loans to and/or impose a one-year moratorium on loan amortizations of members who are residents of the Taal volcano eruption calamity areas.
The resolution also urges Local Government Units to be more lenient to affected businesses on the payment of real property taxes, renewal of business permits and imposition of penalties.
It likewise calls on both private and government banks to defer loan payments of affected borrowers.
Imposing a one-year moratorium on loan amortization and suspending the imposition of penalties by LGUs to calamity-affected business establishments will not only help affected citizens to recover and rebuild, it will also facilitate and reinvigorate the economy of the affected areas, Gatchalian said.
READ: Binay wants GFIs to impose loan payment moratorium in Taal eruption-hit areas
