President Rodrigo Duterte has approved a program of the Department of Finance (DOF) for middle-class wage earners in the Philippines.
According to Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) Spokesperson and Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, the program is tentatively set for implementation jn May.
“There will be two tranches, the first tranche will be paid out between May 1 to May 15, and the second one will be paid out on May 16 to May 30. Pinrisenta ito kay Pangulo at nagbigay na siya ng go rito. (This has been presented to the President and he approved it.) So the program is called the small business wage subsidy program, eto po ‘yung sagot natin sa tinatawag na middle income workers natin. We shall be giving the same 5k to 8k pesos subsidy [to employees and] workers [of] small businesses.”
IATF Spokesperson Karlo Nograles has urged the Local Government Unit (LGUs) to keep an eye on the funeral homes and crematoriums not to accumulate the deceased bodies of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients.
“Government will come in already. Hindi pwede itong, we have to honor ‘yung 12 hour rule for cremation, huwag na nating isipin ‘yung lahat ng mga papeles o kung ano-ano pa, huwag na nating tingnan kung sino ang magbabayad nito, you know, this is already something that we are imposing already, don’t worry the government will come in and step in dito. (Government will come in already. We have to honor the 12 hour rule for cremation, we should not think about the documents, we should not look at who will pay, you know, this is already something that we are imposing already, don’t worry the government will come in and step in.) ”
Cabinet Secretary Nograles has also reiterated to the public the use of masks and to practice social distancing, especially when going outside the home for essential goods and services. He reminded to only go out when necessary, and to cooperate with the LGUs.
Report from Mela Lesmoras
