Allow Cebu City to distribute cash aid to Odette victims, Comelec urged

Allow Cebu City to distribute cash aid to Odette victims, Comelec urged

THE Cebu City Government will be appealing to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to grant them an exemption so that they can continue distributing the P5,000 cash aid to victims of Typhoon Odette while the campaign period is still ongoing.

Lawyer Gerardo Carillo, the chairperson of the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, said on Thursday, March 31, 2022, that he will personally go to the Comelec’s main office in Intramuros, Manila, to file the petition.

Carillo said they were informed that any cash distribution is now disallowed because of the ongoing election ban imposed by the Comelec.

The Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) issued a resolution last December 2021 that imposed a ban on procuring entities issuing a notice of award for projects intended for public works, social projects and housing-related projects.

The prohibition on procurement projects and activities started last March 25, and will take effect until May 8.

The GPPB clarified in itsresolution that, “the election ban not designed to paralyze the operations of the government, but to insulate government procurement from political partisan activities, usually in the form of new projects, which are designed to influence the public during the upcoming May 9, 2022 National and Local Elections.”

According to Carillo, the City Council has appropriated an additional P300 million for cash assistance since there are still many who were not able to receive the P5,000 cash aid from the local government unit.

The City has already distributed more or less P380 million worth of cash assistance to typhoon victims, said Carillo.

Carillo said the city has temporarily halted the distribution pending the approval of their petition from Comelec.

“Momentarily, we advise them to hold until we receive a communication from Comelec. We are waiting for the papers that will give the green signal to proceed for the distribution,” Carillo added.

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