Pregnant women in Quezon town get cash aid amid COVID-19 crisis

LUCENA CITY –– All pregnant women in General Luna town in Quezon province, including non-residents, will receive cash assistance from private donors and the local government to help them cope with the crisis brought by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Mayor Matt Erwin Florido announced the cash aid on his Facebook Saturday. He said the money assistance would be given on Tuesday (April 7).

The amount will correspond to the number of infants to be born – P1,000 for a single baby, P2,000 for twins, and P3,000 for triplets.

“The number of babies inside the mother’s womb can be detected via the ultrasound machine,” he explained.

The cash aid will include single mothers-to-be and even those stranded in their town due to the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine, Florido said.

Of the total P200,000 budget to cover the cash aid, the local government would shoulder the only P52,000, he said.

“The rest of the fund were donations from kind and generous natives, including some personal friends,” the mayor added.

But he stressed that the aid project would not cover pregnancies that will be conceived during the enhanced community quarantine period.

Records from the local health office show that the town has 200 pregnant women. He asked those not included in the list to present themselves to any rural health unit for inclusion.

Florido also reported that the P1,000 cash aid from the local government for each of the 384 “persons with disabilities” have been readied for distribution.

Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the town has been receiving donations from locals and businessmen to help ease the suffering of residents, most of them marginalized.

Florido said he regularly received cash donations, which he had distributed to senior citizens in the form of monetary assistance, rice, or food packs.

“The blessings are truly pouring from kind donors during this time of crisis and hardship. We all thank them from the bottom of our heart,” Florido said.

LZB