‘Ayuda’ for ECQ-areas Bataan, Laguna already guaranteed, Palace says

MANILA, Philippines — The cash aid for eligible residents in the provinces of Bataan and Laguna was already guaranteed by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Malacañang said on Monday.

During a press briefing, various administration officials confirmed that cash aid would be given in the two provinces which have been placed under an enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) due to the recent uptick in COVID-19 cases.

Both Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque and Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rolando Bautista said that the amount that would be disbursed for the Laguna local government unit (LGU) has been determined, while the funding for Bataan has not been determined yet.

“Based sa ating Inter-Agency TWG, ‘yong request po para sa budget para sa Laguna ay pinadala na po yata ng DBM sa Office of the President, pero ito pong sa Bataan dinidetermine pa po kung ilan ‘yong benepisyaryo ang makakatanggap based na rin po sa rekomendasyon ng lokal na pamahalaan ng Bataan,” Bautista said.

“Meron po akong natanggap ngayon na briefer galing po sa DBM, ang sabi po ang garantiya ay makakatanggap po ang Laguna at Bataan, ang Laguna po ang proposal ng DBM ay financial assistance amounting to P2.715 billion, itong computation daw po ay sinumite ng DILG at nandyan po ‘yong listahan ng actual disbursements and number of beneficiaries last April 2021,” Roque added.

The amount of funding that Bataan would need will be specified once consultations between the Bataan LGU and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) have been finished.

“Meanwhile sa Bataan po, ang total cash aid ay kino-compute pa po based on ongoing consultations with the DILG and the Bataan LGU,” Roque noted.

The spokesperson also noted that the allocation of the cash aid would be similar to what would happen in Metro Manila, where each eligible individual can get a payout worth P1,000, with a P4,000 cap for each household.

Both Bataan and Laguna were also placed under an ECQ, with Bataan being under the strictest lockdown measure from August 8 to 22.

Previously, Metro Manila and Laguna were placed under the ECQ from August 6 to 20.

The ECQ declarations were made due to the threat of the dreaded COVID-19 Delta variant, said to be 60 percent more transmissible than the already infectious Alpha variant.

This will be the third time that Metro Manila is under an ECQ after the Luzon-wide lockdown in March 2020 — first in August 2020, second during the Alpha variant-led surge last March 2021, and then this latest ECQ declaration.

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