By Mela Lesmoras
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte approved on Monday the proposed P23 billion Supplemental Amelioration Program (SAP) for the National Capital Region, Rizal, Bulacan, Cavite, and Laguna (NCR Plus) bubble.
Under the program, around 22.9 million low-income beneficiaries in thd NCR Plus bubble will be given ‘in-kind’ assistance to help them cope with the effects of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) imposed to curb the surge in COVID-19 cases.
“Iyong mga nadiskaril sa finances nila, na-ano kayo sa pera. Naghirap kayo kasi walang — hindi makalabas. Magdasal lang kayo. We will give you the ayuda. Ayuda is assistance, help,” President Duterte said during his weekly talk to the people yesterday.
[Those whose finances have been derailed, your money (has been affected). You are hard up because there is no — you can’t go outside. Just pray. We will give you the ayuda (assistance).]
According to Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado, the government will be giving at least P1,000 worth of aid per person, but not more than P4,000 per family.
“[It] will be released to the LGUs for distribution to affected individuals in kind…to ensure that food and other non-food requirements are adequately provided,” Avisado said.
“So wala po tayong cash po dito po [We have no cash (component) here]. We will leave it to the local government units —dahil sila naman talaga ang first line of pinupuntahan ng mga tao — na sila po ang mag-allocate nito, base po doon sa approval ninyo na at least 1,000 pesos per person [because they’re the first place people go to— that they be the ones to allocate this, based on your (the President’s) approval of at least P1,000 per person],” he added.
New quarantine classifications for April announced
Aside from the ongoing implementation of the ECQ in the NCR Plus bubble effective until April 4 and subject to further review, the President has also announced the new quarantine classifications to be imposed in other parts of the country, as follows:
Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ)
– Quirino Province (April 1-15, 2021)
– Santiago City, Isabela (April 1-30, 2021)
General Community Quarantine (GCQ)
(April 1-30, 2021)
– Cordillera Administrative Region
– Cagayan
– Isabela
– Nueva Vizcaya
– Batangas
– Tacloban City
– Iligan City
– Davao City
– Lanao del Sur
Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ)
(April 1-30, 2021)
– The rest of the Philippines
The chief executive said similar quarantine measures are being implemented not only in the Philippines, but also in other parts of the world, to control the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic.
“Ang gobyerno ba natin nagkulang? Ang gobyerno ba natin walang ginawa? Alam mo, sa totoo lang, ang naka-lockdown ngayon — naka-lockdown ang the countries of Ukraine, France, Germany, Poland, Italy,” he said.
[Has our government lacked in its efforts? Has the government not done anything? You know, honestly, this lockdown — the countries of the Ukraine, France, Germany, Poland, and Italy are also under lockdown.]
