THE Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) yesterday said the distribution of cash aid to low-income residents in Metro Manila affected by the March 29 to April enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) is now 75 percent complete.
Interior spokesman Jonathan Malaya expressed confidence the distribution of the assistance in the National Capital Region and the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal, or collectively called the NCR Plus, will be completed within the May 15 deadline.
“The distribution of the assistance is going well,” Malaya said during the Laging Handa press briefing, adding that in Metro Manila, 8,410,659 beneficiaries, out of the total 11.17 million intended recipients, have already received their “ayudas.”
“Here in NCR, 75 percent of the beneficiaries have received their aid. We have distributed P8.41 billion in aid already,” he said.
President Duterte approved the distribution of cash assistance amounting to P1,000 per person, or a maximum of P4,000 per family, to poor families affected by the two-week lockdown in the NCR Plus which the government imposed to control the surge of COVID-19 cases in the bubble.
The funds were downloaded to local government units on April 5. Local executives were initially given a 15-day deadline, or until April 20, to complete the distribution but the deadline has been extended to May 15 to allow LGUs to finish the payouts
Malaya said the Caloocan City had the highest completion rate among local government units in NCR at 96.31 percent, meaning the city has already distributed P1.29 billion in aid to residents.
He said Quezon City came in second at 94.96 percent, followed by Mandaluyong (92.51 percent), Navotas (90.68 percent), Manila (88.39 percent), Pateros (87.69 percent) and San Juan (80.40 percent).
