Lgu ‘ayuda’ may be in cash or in-kind

LOCAL government units may choose to distribute the aid either through cash or in-kind for those in the National Capital Region (NCR) and its surrounding areas that are under enhanced community quarantine, Malacañang said.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said on Tuesday this is allowed because the order signed by the President is “silent” on what particular form the aid should be distributed.

Roque said this move will pave the way for local government units to determine the quickest way to distribute the P23-billion aid to 22.9 million low-income individuals in

the “NCR Plus” which includes Metro Manila and the provinces of Laguna, Cavite, Rizal and Bulacan.

“We leave it to the local government units, [whatever is the fastest means to get this aid to our countrymen],” Roque told reporters, partly in Filipino, during the virtual Palace briefing.

President Duterte approved the recommendation of Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado late Monday that P1,000 will be given per individual, and not more than P4,000 per family.

Avisado also said the money for the P23billion aid is sourced from the unutilized fund under the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan 2).

Of the said areas, NCR has the highest aid allocation with P11.2 billion.

The other areas will get the following fund allocation: Cavite (P3.4 billion); Bulacan (P3 billion); Laguna (P2.7 billion); and Rizal (P2.6 billion).

Avisado also told the Businessmirror that he already signed on Tuesday the corresponding Special Allotment Release Order, as well as the Notice of Cash Allocation, which authorizes the release of financial aid to LGUS concerned.

The government has since declared that NCR Plus be under ECQ until April 4, Sunday.

However, Malacañang said the Inter-agencytask Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) will be meeting on Saturday to review the community quarantine classifications.