(PNA photo by Avito Dalan)
MANILA – The distribution of emergency cash assistance to low-income beneficiaries affected by the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Metro Manila from Aug. 6 to 20 has been completed.
Speaking to President Rodrigo Duterte during his Talk to the People on Wednesday night but aired Thursday morning, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año said a total of PHP11,256,348 worth of assistance funds were disbursed to 11,226,946 recipients.
He added that only Makati City logged a surplus in 'ayuda' (cash aid) funds.
"Narito naman ang breakdown kung saan mapapansin natin na may natitirang 29.4 milyong piso sa alokasyon ng Makati City na hindi pa naipamimigay. Ayon sa lokal na pamahalaan ng Makati, nabigyan na ng LGU ang lahat ng benepisyaryong nakatala sa kanilang inisyal na listahan pati na ang mga kwalipikadong indibidwal na nagsumite ng kanilang aplikasyon sa Grievance and Appeals Committee. At dahil wala ng karagdagang claimants ay ibabalik nila ang natitirang halaga sa Bureau of the Treasury (This is the breakdown of the remaining PHP29.4 million allocation for Makati City which was not distributed. The local government said all beneficiaries, including those on the initial list of qualified individuals who filed an application with their Grievance and Appeals Committee. As there are no more additional claimants, they will return the remaining amount to the Bureau of the Treasury)," Año told Duterte.
Metro Manila local government units (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 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 some LGUs suspended some aid payout activities over incidents where employees and beneficiaries contracted Covid-19.
In Laguna, Año said 87.02 percent or PHP2.3 million out of a total allocation of PHP2.7 million aid funds were disbursed to qualified beneficiaries, with 19 out of 31 towns having completed aid payout.
Meanwhile, he said 61.73 percent or PHP413 million out of a total allotment of PHP698.3 million were distributed to some 431,054 qualified beneficiaries in Bataan.
Anti-drug campaign
Año also reported that law enforcement agencies have so far confiscated an estimated PHP5.58 billion worth of illegal drugs from Sept. 3 to 13.
He added that during this period, 1,659 persons were arrested, 18 were personally apprehended and nine deaths were recorded in 1,119 operations.
"Dito po makikita, Mr. President, na 818 kilograms ng shabu; 13.22 kilograms ng marijuana. Sa loob po ng 10 araw ay PHP5.58 billion ang na-recover na halaga ng shabu ang na-recover ng ating mga law enforcement units. Pinakamalaking score po ‘to sa isang maliit na period ng 10 araw (As you can see, Mr. President, these operations involve 818 kilograms of shabu and 13.22 kilograms of marijuana. In just 10 days, the total amount of shabu recovered by our law enforcement units is PHP5.58 billion. This is the biggest score we have made so far in just a short period of 10 days)," Año, in a Cabinet meeting with President Rodrigo R. Duterte
Last week, 11 big-time drug traffickers were neutralized while authorities recovered around PHP5.5 billion worth of shabu in a series of operations in Zambales, Bataan, and Cavite.
Duterte has repeatedly stressed the need to double the government’s efforts to stop the proliferation of illegal drugs in the country. (PNA)
