Cash aid eyed for 22.9M beneficiaries in NCR Plus but amount will be lower —DBM chief

The planned financial assistance is targeted to cover some 22.9 million beneficiaries in Metro Manila and nearby provinces hit by the reimposition of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), an official said Monday.

According to Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado, the next wave of Social Amelioration Program will be funded by P23 billion in unutilized funds that the government can tap from the Bayanihan To Recover As One Act, and will be enough to cover beneficiaries for more than a week.

"The funds that we're gonna use for this special amelioration assistance to those affected by the ECQ are the remaining unutilized balances of Bayanihan 2," he said during a press briefing with presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, noting that the Bayanihan 2 law allows the President to realign budget.

Avisado declined to give a specific amount that will be released to the public pending approval of President Rodrigo Duterte. He said, however, that this will be lower than what was given under the Bayanihan to Heal As One Act, which provided households at least P5,000 to P8,000 cash assistance.

"We surmise that something worse can happen after one week so based on our projection, this will tide them up until the time that the government or IATF and approval by the President to make adjustments in the current state of quarantine," he said.

The beneficiaries will be based on data from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), corresponding to the 80% low-income population in the National Capital Region, Bulacan, Rizal, Cavite, and Laguna -- areas that are part of the "NCR Plus" bubble.

"The details, as I've said, will have to be revealed by the President maybe or the Executive Secretary, but definitely, we assure that the national government has prepared assistance for those affected by the ECQ in the NCR Plus bubble," he said.

Following the President's approval, Avisado said the assistance will be immediately released to local government units which will be in charge of releasing the funds to the public.

Metro Manila and the four adjacent provinces have been placed again under ECQ from March 29 to April 4, 2021 to contain the surge in COVID-19 cases.

Prior to the announcement of the ECQ, the government banned non-essential entry and exit into the NCR Plus bubble during the same period.

NEDA earlier said another two-week modified enhanced community quarantine -- one notch lower than the ECQ -- would bring about P2.1 billion daily losses to the economy. —KBK, GMA News