MORE ASSISTANCE. Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. (extreme right) on Monday (April 13, 2020) checks farm produce intended to aid locals affected by the enhanced community quarantine. The province of Iloilo will release an additional PHP186 million from the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council fund to fund measures meant to contain the coronavirus disease. (Photo courtesy of Capitol PIO)
ILOILO CITY – To continue its efforts against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), the Iloilo provincial government is set to release an additional PHP185,997,077 to assist its 43 local government units.
In an official statement on Tuesday, the Iloilo provincial government said the additional money will be sourced from the calamity fund of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council’s (PDRRMC).
Each of the 43 local government units (42 municipalities and one component city) in the province will receive financial assistance that would range from PHP1 million to PHP8-million, lawyer Dennis Ventilacion, Provincial Legal Office chief said.
The assistance that will be given to the local government units will depend on their household population as directed by Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr.
The provincial government has earlier released PHP1 million to each town and the component city of Passi to augment their relief assistance to residents affected by the enhanced community quarantine.
The Iloilo Provincial Board also realigned a PHP270-million fund for the purchase of medicine and other medical supplies, mobility needs, and food assistance for the local government units.
On Monday, the province already received the delivery of vegetables that are intended to be distributed to families affected by the enhanced community quarantine.
“We are running out of Vitamin C in pharmacies and these are good source of vitamins that we need as we fight the pandemic,” Defensor said.
With PHP8-million allocation for vegetables, the governor said the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) will take charge of distributing the farm produce to the beneficiaries.
Ventilacion, meanwhile, said that the municipalities of Guimbal and Lambunao, that implement travel restrictions due to the local transmission of Covid-19, will get more of the vegetable allocations. (PNA)
