Aid breakdown: Low-income families in NCR to get P8,000; others P5,000-P6,500

MANILA, Philippines — It seems that only low-income families in the National Capital Region (NCR) would receive the P8,000 cash subsidy under the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act while those in other regions would receive P5,000 to P6,500.

This was based on the breakdown released Tuesday by Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Salceda.

To recall, Section 4 (c) of Republic Act No. 11469 or the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act tackles an emergency subsidy for around 18 million low-income households in the country affected by enforced strict quarantines because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The subsidy amounts range from P5,000 to P8,000 a month for two months and are computed based on the “prevailing regional minimum wage rates.”

According to Salceda’s breakdown, families from different regions in the country would receive the following amount:

• NCR: P8,000
• CAR: P5,500
• Region 1: P5,500
• Region 2: P5,500
• Region 3: P6,500
• Region 4-A: P6,500
• Region 4-B: P5,000
• Region 5: P5,000
• Region 6: P6,000
• Region 7: P6,000
• Region 8: P5,000
• Region 9: P5,000
• Region 10: P6,000
• Region 11: P6,000
• Region 12: P5,000
• CARAGA: P5,000
• ARMM: P5,000

According to the report submitted by President Rodrigo Duterte to Congress on Tuesday, the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) approved on March 28 the Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) for the implementation guidelines of the government’s Emergency Subsidy Program (ESP), which provides for the dispensation of aid for low-income families.

“The JMC serves as a guide to streamline social amelioration programs of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Agriculture (DA), and LGUs, among others, to mitigate the socioeconomic impact of COVID-19,” the report states.

The Department of Health (DOH) said there are 1,546 cases of COVID-19 in the country as of Monday afternoon. DOH also said the number of patients who died from the disease has increased to 78 while recoveries remained at 42.

KGA