Manila to give another ₱1,000 cash aid to more than 680,000 families
More than 680,000 families in the City of Manila will receive another ₱1,000 cash aid from their local government amid the crisis brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso said on Thursday.
This is the second wave of Manila’s City Amelioration Crisis Assistance Fund (CACAF), which was created by the local government to alleviate the financial woes of citizens in the city during the pandemic.
The beneficiaries of the second wave of cash aid were based on the updated masterlist submitted by 896 barangays, Domagoso.
During a Facebook Live broadcast Wednesday night, Domagoso said the first batch of the cash assistance was released on Thursday to more than 300 barangays in the city’s first, second, and third districts.
The second batch was released today to more than 500 barangays in the fourth, fifth, and sixth districts, he said.
Initially, officials from the city’s 896 barangays recorded about 607,000 families to receive the cash aid. However, with their updated masterlists, the number of families recorded increased to more than 680,000.
This is on top of the food boxes, rice subsidy weighing 3 kilos, financial assistance for senior citizens, solo parents, persons with disabilities, milk assistance for senior citizens, and cash allowances for students at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila and the Universidad de Manila.
The ₱1,000 cash aid is also part of the Manila city government’s “CODE COVID-19: Contain and Delay” action plan against the pandemic.
Under the action plan, the Manila city government established a Manila Infectious Disease Control Center at the Sta. Ana Hospital to control the spread of COVID-19 in the city.
The city government also increased the capacity of its six district hospitals by 1,004 beds, with 171 of the beds allocated exclusively for COVID-19 patients.
The Manila city government also partnered with the Philippine General Hospital, three private hospitals, one Singaporean laboratory and the Philippine Red Cross for processing of COVID-19 swab tests.
The Manila Department of Engineering and Public Works has also finished building two operational quarantine facilities at the Delpan Evacuation Center and the Araullo High School. Nine more facilities will be constructed in a few days.
The city government also catered to jeepney drivers, tricycle drivers, e-trike drivers and pedicab drivers by providing them with 25 kilos of rice. Likewise, one sack of rice was provided to each police officer under the Manila Police District.
It also allocated financial assistance worth ₱5,000 each to 10,072 teachers and 1,077 non-teaching personnel.
For the business sector, the Manila City government passed an ordinance extending the deadline of the first and second quarterly payments for Business Tax and Real Property Tax to June 30, 2020.