LIFELINE power consumers, or those who consume 50 kilowatts of electricity or less every month, are exempted from paying their electric bills for the months of March and April, Cabinet Secretary and concurrent spokesman of the Inter-agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) Karlo Nograles said on Wednesday.
Nograles at the same time assured the public of enough power and water supply during the remainder of the 45-day Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) in Luzon.
“To our fellowmen who consume less than 50 kilowatt per hour or the lifeline consumers of electric cooperatives here in Luzon, and even in the Visayas and Mindanao, apart from the one-month grace period for the payment of electricity, your consumption would now be free for the months covered by the March and April billing period,” he said in Filipino.
He said the government’s “Pantawid Liwanag” program covers some three million consumers supplied by electric cooperatives.
Nograles said the Department of Energy (DOE) has assured Luzon consumers there is an available power capacity of 11,795 megawatt (MW) which is greater than the peak demand of 7,323 MW.
Nograles likewise said that the National Water Resources Board had committed to give the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) its full water allocation of 46 cubic meters per second the from Angat Reservoir until April 30 to ensure Metro Manila’s water supply until the end of the lockdown.
Angat supplies the water demands of the National Capital Region as well as surrounding areas like Rizal.
TAXES
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has extended the deadline for the submission and filing of documents and returns, as well as payment of taxes, to May 30.
The extension was authorized under Revenue Regulations (RR) No. 10-2020 signed by Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez and BIR chief Caesar Dulay. The order amended the previously released regulation relative to the extension of the deadlines.
The Tax Code sets the original deadline for the payment of taxes every April 15 each year. This was extended to April 30 when the ECQ was originally set to end on April 12. Given the extended ECQ period, the deadline was moved by another 15 days.
The BIR has listed in the publication 40 types of transactions or documents with extended deadlines.
“If the ECQ period will be extended further, the filing of the returns and payment of the corresponding taxes due thereon, and submission of reports, and attachments falling within the enhanced extended period shall be extended for 30 calendar days from the lifting of the ECQ,” the BIR said.
The BIR said taxpayers who will file their tax returns within the original deadline or prior to the extended deadline can amend their tax returns at any time on or before the extended due date.
FOOD SUPPLY
Nograles reassured the public of enough food especially of rice during the lockdown, adding that the Department of Agriculture (DA) has recently distributed 80,000 sacks of rice to the Caloocan-Malabon-Navotas area.
Nograles said the DA had also distributed assorted vegetable seeds and seedlings to 173,957 beneficiaries through its Urban Agriculture Program which aims to promote backyard gardening. The seedlings include vegetables that can be grown and harvested in one to two months’ time.
Fingerlings and seaweed propagules were also distributed to 1,005 fishpond and cage operators and seaweed farmers.
He said the department had also been working with some 12,000 farmers and market workers, under the Katuwang sa Diwa at Gawa para sa Masaganang Ani at Mataas na Kita (KADIWA) activities, to help in the distribution of the agricultural produce.
In the Bicol Region, KADIWA gross sales reached P4.6 million, which DA hopes to replicate in other regions.
Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, during the Laging Handa public briefing, said some manufacturing companies are already operating at an 80 to 90 percent capacity to ensure that there will be no shortage of basic products especially food items.
CASH AID
The DA likewise distributed a P5,000 cash aid to 328,282 farmers under the Rice Farmers Financial Assistance Program and 46,575 rice farmers under the Sure Aid and Financial Subsidy.
Nograles said the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) had also been able to distribute P922 million worth of social amelioration program cash aid to 170,989 non-Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) families and 3.72 million 4Ps beneficiaries. The 4Ps beneficiaries only received the top-up value from the SAP or an amount on top of their regular monthly subsidy.
DSWD also distributed cash aid to 40,418 Transportation Network Vehicle Service (TNVS) drivers and public transportation drivers, and to 13,135 individuals, worth P61.9 million, under the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations program.
Nograles said the department of Labor and Employment had already released its P5,000 aid under the COVID-19 Adjustments Measures Program (CAMP) to 219,458 workers.
He said the Department of Finance (DOF) is finalizing the Small Business Wage Subsidy Program – which aims to provide a P5,000 to P8,000 cash subsidy for up to two months to around 3.4 million middle-income employees of small businesses — and set to launch it soon.
GROCERY VOUCHERS
The Makati City Government on Wednesday said they will be distributing P50 million worth of grocery vouchers to its residents, including condominium-dwellers, as an aid for this time of crisis.
“We are aware that everyone, even those belonging to the lower and upper middle class, is affected by the crisis. This is why condominium-dwellers, whether they are students or employees, will be among our priority recipients for the grocery vouchers,” Makati Mayor Abby Binay said.
Binay said all identified beneficiaries will each receive P500 worth of grocery vouchers.
FINANCIAL AID
The Mandaluyong government said 291 families have received their P5,000 to P8,000 financial aid, while Pasig City continued its distribution of the ₱400 food coupon to students.
Mayor Menchie Abalos said the families were from barangay Buayang Bato. Abalos said families from other barangays will get their cash assistance in the next few days.
In Pasig, Mayor Vico Sotto the city government has continued the distribution of the ₱400 food coupons among students studying in city schools.
Sotto said the food coupons can be used for food purchase at the Pasig Mega market and ‘talipapa’ markets. — With Angela Celis, Noel Talacay and Christian Oineza
