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DBM releases order for P22.9-B cash aid for NCR Plus


The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said it has released the order to fund the planned financial assistance to cover at least 22.9 million individuals affected by the reimposition of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Metro Manila and its nearby provinces.

In a statement on Tuesday, the DBM said it has given to the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) the Special Allotment Release Order (SARO) and corresponding Notices of Cash Allocation amounting to P22,915,422,000 representing the cash assistance approved by President Rodrigo Duterte to be distributed to local government units (LGUs) in the National Capital Region and the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal - collectively as “NCR Plus" - that were placed under ECQ from March 29 to April 4, 2021.

The Budget department said financial assistance is intended to assist 80% of the population of the NCR Plus belonging to low-income households.

The beneficiaries were based on projections of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will assist the LGUs in the implementation of the financial assistance to the targeted beneficiaries, according to the DBM.

Consistent with the President’s directive, the DBM said beneficiaries of earlier Social Amelioration Programs of the DSWD will be prioritized for the latest financial assistance and the complete list of beneficiaries will be posted in conspicuous places in the LGU and submitted to the DBM, the Commission on Audit, and other agencies as required under existing laws, rules and regulations.

The specific details and allocations of each city and municipality in the NCR Plus are provided under Local Budget Circular No. 136.

 

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.

The 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.

Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado earlier said that the government cannot afford to distribute another round of assistance should the ECQ be extended in the NCR Plus. —LDF, GMA News

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