(INQUIRER file photo /GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE)
MANILA, Philippines — Metro Manila residents affected by the week-long enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) will most likely receive a P1,000 in-kind assistance from the government, Parañaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez said Tuesday.
Olivarez, who is also the concurrent head of the Metro Manila Council, added that this was initially agreed upon by all 17 mayors in Metro Manila.
“‘Yan ang initially pinag-usapan dito sa Metro Manila Council para ma-augment po kaagad ito, yung LGU (local government unit) po muna magbibigay tulong sa aming siyudad,” Olivarez said on Teleradyo.
(This was what the Metro Manila Council agreed upon so this will be augmented, the LGU will initially distribute aid to residents.)
Olivarez added that based on previous experience, the Department of Social Welfare and Development encountered difficulties in delivering in-kind assistance to Metro Manila residents.
“Kung ida-download po natin yung pera, pwede naman tayo mag-direct purchase. May direct purchase po tayo, dahil dapat nga po mabilisan,” he said.
“Mas mabuti po kung pera ang maibigay sa local government units.”
(If we will download the money, we can do a direct purchase. We will do a direct purchase since this needs to be distributed quickly. It will be better if the fund will be downloaded to the local government units.)
“Ganun po magiging arrangement po dun. Ida-download ang pera, bibili ng LGU ng ating goods tapos ibibigay sa tao,” Olivarez said.
(That will be the arrangement. The money will be downloaded, then the LGU will purchase the goods to be distributed to the people.)
On Monday, President Rodrigo Duterte approved the proposal of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to distribute P1,000 worth of in-kind aid per person affected by ECQ imposed over the Greater Manila Area, also known now as the National Capital Region (NCR) Plus.
Each affected individual can get P1,000 worth of in-kind aid, but no more than P4,000 for each family, DBM Secretary Wendel Avisado said.
Avisado, in a separate interview on Teleradyo, said that the LGUs will be authorized to decide if the P1,000 aid from the national government will be distributed to the people either in cash or in-kind.
The DBM added that some 22.9 million beneficiaries in the NCR Plus would receive government assistance.