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Manila, Navotas mayors prefer cash aid for ECQ-hit constituents
By CONSUELO MARQUEZ ,GMA NewsQualified residents in the City of Manila and Navotas City affected most by the enhanced community quarantine will receive cash assistance only, not in kind, mayors Isko Moreno and Toby Tiangco said Sunday.
Manila's Moreno told Super Radyo dzBB that cash assistance will allow low-income residents to purchase priority goods for their families.
"Cash po ako, para may elbow room ang mga kababayan namin at may choices na kung ano importanteng ... kailangan (I will give cash so that they will have choices in what necessities they want to buy)," he said.
Meanwhile, Navotas Mayor Toby Tiangco said in another Super Radyo dzBB interview: "Definitely cash po ang ibibigay ng city of Navotas. 'Yan po ang napagdesisyunan namin" (Navotas City has decided to give cash aid).
But, he said the city is still working on the final number of cash aid beneficiaries under ECQ, which has been extended until April 11.
Earlier, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said local government units can choose the form of aid (cash or in kind) they will give to lockdown-hit residents.
Also, the number of beneficiaries will be based
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No politics
Moreno meanwhile vowed that there will be no politics in the distribution of cash assistance to low-income families.
"Lahat ng pinamimigay namin walang pangalan, nino man. Hindi naman sa pagbubuhat ng bangko. Nu'ng ako ay mayor, pinatanggal ko lahat talaga ng mga pangalan ng pulitiko sa Maynila. Minsan nalilito na ako sa eskuwelahan, akala ko pangalan ng bayani sa eskuwelahan. Mas malaki pa pangalan ng politiko," Moreno said on Super Radyo dzBB.
(All of our assistance has no political name. When I was mayor, I asked them to remove all the names of politicians in Manila. Sometimes I get confused with the names of schools as some were supposed to be named after heroes but the names of politicians were bigger.)
"We don't want to utilize the misery of others, 'yung tulong ay tulong (assistance is assistance)," he further said.
In 2019, Moreno changed the name of their public Wi-fi service from ISKOnek to MNLKonek, following criticisms from social media users.
The national government said nearly P23 billion funds were allocated for the assistance of 22.9 million low income families in NCR Plus bubble.
As of April 3, Manila logged 43,179 total COVID-19 cases including 4,012 active cases, 38,258 recoveries, 909 deaths. —LBG/KG, GMA News