NCR Plus aid distribution complete; 8 LGUs to return excess P26.3 million – Año

MANILA, Philippines — The distribution of the government’s aid of P1,000 for every qualified resident in the so-called National Capital Region (NCR) Plus has been completed, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said on Monday during the taped briefing with President Rodrigo Duterte.

As it turned out, eight local government units still had P26.30 million in excess funds, which they will return to the Bureau of the Treasury, he said.

“I’m happy to report to our president that the status of the distribution of aid in the NCR Plus is at 100 percent,” Año said in Filipino. “So we want to recognize and greet our governors, the chairman of the MMDA, our mayors, and the barangay captains of the NCR Plus.”

The NCR Plus is composed of Metro Manila and the adjacent provinces of Bulacan, Rizal, Cavite, and Laguna. The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority is chaired by former Mandaluyong Mayor Benjamin Abalos Jr.

At the start of the distribution, the Department of the Interior and Local Government and other agencies targeted helping 22,915,422 individuals, but the LGUs could not locate some of the aid beneficiaries.

The P1,000 aid was given to low-income residents of the NCR Plus, which went under an enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) back in late March and then a modified ECQ (MECQ) due to a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases.

Under the current aid, each person can get a cash aid of P1,000, for a maximum cap of P4,000 per family.

Some groups lamented that the aid would not be enough to feed a family of four for just a week let alone for longer than a month, which was how long the ECQ and MECQ.

Several progressive organizations are pushing for a one-time P10,000 aid per family in communities hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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