Marikina hands out cash aid to mall frontliners, awaits nat'l gov'ts help

Despite its meager P35-million quick response fund, the Marikina City government still managed on Wednesday to roll out its second batch of food packs to thousands of residents.

A total of 135,000 households in Marikina received five kilograms of rice each, according to a 24 Oras report by Maki Pulido.

As local authorities try to keep low-income families afloat, Marikina Mayor Marcelino Teodoro said he hopes that aid from the national government will arrive soon to augment their funds.

“Ito po ‘yung paraan na nakikita natin sa ngayon na mame-maintain ‘yung social distancing… Ginagawa natin sa local kung ano ‘yung available resources natin,” he said.

“Maaaring hindi kasing laki no’ng sinasabi o ina-announce ng national, kasi talagang malaki ‘yung pera na manggagaling sa national. Sana dumating na dahil kailangan na ng ating mga kababayan.”

The Marikina City government also handed out on Wednesday a 2,500-peso aid to employees of five malls in the city whose incomes were affected by the Luzon-wide quarantine.

The local government said it targets to distribute the financial assistance to some 4,000 workers, adding that the P5,000 aid promised by the Department of Labor and Employment is yet to arrive. -Julia Mari Ornedo/MDM, GMA News