Additional Aid Not Available Despite Lockdown Extension; But Congress May Intervene

Residents affected by the extended Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) in the areas covered by the NCR Plus bubble will not receive additional aid, said Malacañang on Monday.

The emergency subsidy budget amounting to almost ₱23 billion released to local governments in the NCR Plus (Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal) will be the “totality” of the aid for now, according to Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque.

A two-week ECQ was already in mind when the government planned the budget for the program, he explained.

“The government, when it was decided to distribute [the aid] per family, considered already that the ECQ would be for two weeks,” Roque said in an interview.

“The reason is during Holy Week, they only lost two days of working days effectively,” he added. “So we believe that— although it’s never enough — this will tie over our countrymen for this additional ECQ.”

According to the Department of Finance, the government planned to release the subsidy budget to the local government units in the NCR Plus bubble on Monday, April 5.

It is up to the local officials to decide whether to distribute the aid in cash or in kind. Beneficiaries are be given ₱1,000 worth of aid per person, not exceeding more than ₱4,000 per family.

“If there is need for further ayuda (aid), then Congress would have to be called into a special session,” Roque said. “We would need to get a supplemental budget for that purpose.”

“But for the time being, it will be the 23 billion released already will be the totality of ayuda that the people would get,” he concluded.

Source: CNN PH