Palayan City Mayor Adrianne Mae Cuevas (right) maintains social distancing as she distributes P3,000 in cash to added to food aid given to all families in the Nueva Ecija city. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
PALAYAN CITY—This Nueva Ecija city remains free of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), but its local officials have been moving house to house since April 8 to distribute P3,000 to each of the families restricted at home by a city-wide quarantine.
The cash assistance is being extended by the local inter-agency task force, on top of food packs, chicken, vegetables and milk that the city has earlier distributed so families can ride out the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine which was extended until the end of April.
“The cash was not only for the poorest of the poor. We gave food packs and the cash aid to our middle class who have not worked for a month,” said city Mayor Adrianne Mae Cuevas.
Councilor Mader Sta. Maria said the officials made sure every house got the assistance. “This is separate from what target families expect to receive from the Social Amelioration Program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD),” said Sta. Maria.
Mayor Cuevas, in a statement, also said that she is preparing cash assistance as well for all city health workers, policemen, soldiers, staff of the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office and barangay frontliners this month.
Mayor Cuevas said she believes that the cash assistance from the city government, together with the amelioration fund given by President Rodrigo Duterte, will help all her constituents get through the COVID-19 crisis. ARMAND GALANG