Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 7) – The Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine has been extended until April 30, and local chief executives in Metro Manila have urged the national government to provide relief to more Filipinos in need.
The Metro Manila Council, composed of 17 mayors in the capital region, appealed to the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Department of Finance to restore the original number of target cash aid beneficiaries.
Under Republic Act 11469 or the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will provide cash aid between P5,000 to P8,000 to 18 million low income families amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
This will be given to vulnerable sectors of society such as persons with disabilities, senior citizens, pregnant mothers, homeless persons and workers in informal sectors, the DSWD said.
READ: DSWD to distribute cards to LGUs for distribution of COVID-19 cash aid
Local government units were asked to come up with a master list of qualified beneficiaries in their respective cities.
But one local government official said the number of beneficiaries approved by the DSWD is lower than the actual count.
“Approved by the DSWD so far is 377,000 families,” Quezon City administrator Mike Alimurung told CNN Philippines.
“But estimates indicate there are [more than] 700 thousand qualified families considering that even stranded, non-residents are to be given cash aid,” he added.
READ: Distribution of cash aid in Quezon City to begin in two weeks or later
Other Metro Manila local governments have experienced the same problem.
The mayors have asked the national government for full coverage in their areas, based on earlier announcements by President Rodrigo Duterte and House Speaker Alan Cayetano that every household will receive a cash grant.
CNN Philippines’ correspondent AC Nicholls contributed to this report
