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Palace: No guidelines yet for cash aid, public transpo for August NCR ECQ


Malacañang on Friday said guidelines will soon be issued regarding cash aid and public transportation in Metro Manila, which will be under strictest quarantine protocol for two weeks in August amid the threat of the Delta coronavirus variant.

Metro Manila will be under enhanced community quarantine from August 6 to 20. Under such protocol, only essential trips and services are allowed.

“We expect to grant the same amount of cash aid earlier given to Iloilo province, Iloilo City and Gingoog City, and I have talked to Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado and he told me, hahanapan at hahanapan ng paraan (we will look for ways to fund this),” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in a Super Radyo dzBB interview.

Roque was referring to the areas which are under ECQ from July 16 to August 7. He made the response given the government’s existing policy to provide cash aid to poor families in ECQ areas.

The P1,000 per person or maximum of P4,000 cash aid per household was only approved last July 29.

“The President will not allow an ECQ implementation na walang ayuda ang mamamayan (without a cash grant for those affected by the ECQ implementation),” Roque added.

During the first ECQ implementation in NCR on March 16 to May 14, 2020, public transportation was prohibited.

When NCR was again placed under ECQ from March 29 to April 11, 2021, workers in essential and non-essential sectors were allowed to physically report to work and public transportation was made available under limited capacity.

Roque could not say if public transportation will be available under the looming ECQ. “We will let the Transportation department decide on this, may panahon pa naman (there is still time)," he said. --KBK, GMA News

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