(File photo)
MANILA – Close to 98 percent or PHP10.9 billion out of a total of PHP11.2 billion fund for cash assistance to low-income beneficiaries affected by the recently enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) have already been distributed by local government units in Metro Manila,
“Sa atin pong updates ng ayuda sa National Capital Region, makikita po natin na naka 97.92 percent na po tayo at 11 million beneficiaries po ang nakatanggap ng ayuda (In our updates on aid in the National Capital Region, we can see that we have reached 97.92 percent and 11 million beneficiaries have received aid),” Año told President Rodrigo Duterte during the Talk to the People aired on Wednesday.
He added that 12 Metro Manila LGUs have so far completed the payout of the financial aid.
Año added that Laguna and Bataan are also making progress in the distribution of aid.
In Laguna, Año disclosed that 81.64 percent of the financial assistance funds were already disbursed to 2,216,587 recipients while 37.37 percent of the 226,055 recipients in Bataan received aid.
Metro Manila LGUs were initially given 15 days to complete the payout which started on August 11 and was supposed to end on August 25.
The DILG has earlier extended the deadline for the distribution of financial aid in Metro Manila to August 31.
The agency extended anew the deadline for the payout to Sept. 10, as only six Metro Manila LGUs have completed the payout of the cash aid as of Sept. 1.
Año earlier said some LGUs reported incidents where employees and beneficiaries contracted Covid-19, prompting the suspension of payout activities in some of their areas of jurisdiction.
Under Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) No. 3, s. 2021 signed by the DILG, Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Department of National Defense, those affected by the implementation of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in NCR will receive financial assistance of PHP1,000 per low-income individual with a maximum of PHP4,000 per low-income family.
Metro Manila was placed under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) from August 6 to 20, to arrest the further spread of coronavirus, especially the highly contagious Delta variant.
Initially, Duterte approved the release of PHP10.89 billion aid funds for the ECQ-hit recipients in the National Capital Region and later gave the go-signal to add another PHP368 million, bringing the total cash aid to PHP11.256 billion.
This is on top of the PHP2.7 billion and PHP700 million approved cash aid budget for the low-income individuals in Laguna and Bataan, respectively, which were also placed under ECQ. (PNA)
