Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 5) — With the COVID-19 Inter-Agency Task Force set to decide on whether to place Calabarzon under tighter quarantine measures, Malacañang assures the public the government will not run out of funds for financial aid for affected households.
“Siguro sabihin na lang natin na it’s not an issue of meron bang pondo kundi maghahanap ng pondo,” Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said Thursday, when asked whether the government is avoiding putting areas under hard lockdowns due to lack of cash aid funding.
[Translation: Let’s just say it’s not an issue of whether there are funds, but where will we look for them.]
Roque reiterated President Rodrigo Duterte’s directive that no area can be placed under the strictest enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) if cash aid cannot be provided to affected residents.
Citing Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, Roque said the financial assistance can be sourced from dividends of Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations (GOCCs).
“Kung ‘di pa ‘yun po sapat, nandiyan din ang savings. Kung ‘di pa sapat, edi kukuha po tayo ng supplemental budget galing sa Kongreso,” he added.
[Translation: If those aren’t enough, [government] savings are there. If those aren’t enough either, then we’ll request a supplemental budget from Congress.]
Roque earlier announced that savings of all government agencies will be used for the financial assistance for residents of Metro Manila, when the region reverts to ECQ from August 6 to 20.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, who also chairs the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, earlier said officials are evaluating whether to place the entire Calabarzon under ECQ, or just some of its areas with rising COVID-19 cases.
