Duterte nudges NCR Plus mayors to hurry up distribution of ECQ aid

President Rodrigo Duterte has asked mayors in the NCR Plus bubble to hurry up with the distribution of P1,000 aid to qualified individuals affected by the recent enhanced community quarantine in the area.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque made the announcement a day after Social Welfare and Development Secretary Rolando Bautista told Duterte that only 8% of the P22 billion cash aid had been distributed so far.

The NCR Plus is made up of Metro Manila and nearby provinces -- Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, and Bulacan --which have been hard hit by the recent resurgence of COVID-19 cases.

The aid is worth P1,000 per individual and a maximum of P4,000 per low income family.

All cities and towns in the NCR Plus bubble are distributing the aid in case except for Calauan in Laguna.

“Well, nakiusap na po ang ating Presidente sa ating mga mayor. Ang importante po dahil hindi nga nakakapagtrabaho ang ilan sa ating mga kababayan, sana po mapabilisan hangga’t maaari ang pagbibigay ng ayuda,” Roque said when asked if house-to-house distribution of the cash aid was being considered.

[The President appealed to our mayors. It is very important to speed up the distribution of the cash aid because there are those who were not able to go to work during ECQ.]

Roque said Duterte understood the challenge posed by having to distribute the aid in one area, which results in a mass gathering discouraged by the government because of the spread of COVID-19.

The ECQ protocol, which was effective in Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal from March 29 to April 11, prevented non-essential trips and non-essential businesses and services from operating.

The National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) said on April 6 that the two-week ECQ—implemented largely to increase the health care capacity of the covered areas for treatment of COVID-19 cases—resulted in 252,000 jobs lost and an income loss of P30 billion.

This would send 102,000 more Filipinos into poverty. --NB, GMA News