THE national government has allotted P13.1 billion as cash assistance for the low-income families who will be affected by the upcoming two-week enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in the National Capital Region (NCR), Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. said on Tuesday, August 3, 2021.
In a televised press conference, Roque said the funds will be sourced from the savings of government agencies based on Administrative Order No. 41, which was signed by President Rodrigo Duterte in May 2021, and the unobligated continuing appropriations and excess revenues certified by the Bureau of Treasury.
He said 10.7 million Metro Manila residents will benefit from the cash assistance.
On Monday, Roque said low-income families in the ECQ-affected areas will receive P1,000 to P4,000 cash aid.
Metro Manila will be under ECQ on August 6 to 20 as a measure to curb transmission of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) caused by the Delta variant of Sars-CoV-2.
The University of the Philippines Philippine Genome Center has detected 216 Delta variant cases in the country.
Department of Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire noted that Covid-19 cases and healthcare utilization rates are rising.
The top provinces contributing to the new cases are Cavite, Laguna, Quezon City, Bulacan, Cebu City and Bohol.
The regions contributing to the increase are National Capital Region, Calabarzon, Central Visayas, Central Luzon and Western Visayas. (SunStar Philippines)