At least 22.9 million people affected by the imposition of a weeklong enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Metro Manila and four nearby provinces will receive financial aid by mid-April, according to Malacanang.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said President Rodrigo Duterte was going to officially announce this in his regular late evening Monday public address.
In a press briefing, the Palace spokesman said he heard from Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez that the fund would be released next month.
The “special amelioration assistance” will cover “low income” earners in the capital region and Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal provinces, which are under ECQ — the strictest of four quarantine levels — until April 4, according to Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado.
Sen. Christopher Go earlier said around P23 billion in funds are available for the planned assistance, which may be given in cash or in kind.
The Budget secretary could not yet confirm on how much would be given to those affected by the strict quarantine because the proposal was under review by the President.
“But definitely, we ensure that there will be aid from our national government for those affected by ECQ in the NCR Plus bubble,” he added.
The President may finalize the cash aid package during his meeting with the Inter-Agency Task Force leading the country’s pandemic response, Roque added.
While Avisado did not confirm this figure, he said the aid would come from the “remaining unutilized balances of Bayanihan 2,” the country’s second pandemic stimulus package.
He said the latest assistance would be “definitely lower than what we have given during the Bayanihan 1.” Last year, 18 million families received P5,000 to P8,000 in cash aid each from the government to help them cope with the pandemic.
Avisado said he “cannot say more” because the proposal was under review by Duterte’s office.
“ But definitely, we ensure that there will be aid from our national government for those affected by ECQ in the NCR Plus bubble,” he said.
The Philippines is battling a renewed surge in infections, including those of the new and more transmissible variants, prompting the government to tighten existing curbs in the capital and nearby provinces.
Coronavirus cases and deaths in the Philippines totaled 721,892 and 13,170, the second highest in Southeast Asia, with infections reported in the past nine days accounting for a tenth of the total.