MANILA—President Rodrigo R. Duterte (PRRD) in his public address on Monday evening said he already ordered the Philippine National Police (PNP) to transport individuals who are stranded by the ongoing enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in the country.
“May mga matatanda diyan, mga babae, buntis, nagtatrabaho, whataever, na na-stranded, walang masasakyan dahil sa quarantine ay pasasakayin ninyo at ihatid para makarating sa kanilang paruruonan,” said President Duterte.
The president allowed the use of any available PNP vehicle to transport those who have valid reason to travel. “May mga importanteng lakad, maghatid sa ospital, magbili ng pagkain at gamot, may nagkasakit, may namatay, na nangangailangan ng saksakyan. Magagamit nila ang sakasyan ng PNP dahil mura ang gasolina ngayon,” he said.
He further urged citizens to make use of available communication gadgets to contact government officials in case they have not yet received any aid from the government. “Gumamit kayo ng cellphone, mag-text, mayroon naman yata kayo diyan, upang ma-contact ang gobernor ninyo, mayor, o barangay captain upang ipaalam na wala pa kayong natanggap na tulong,” the President said. He continued that as much as possible, everybody will receive assistance from the government.
This developed as reports are reaching the president that many people have been disenfranchised in the distribution of the first tranche of the Social Amelioration Program (SAP) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). The first tranche of Php 100-billion is expected to be fully distributed by the local government units before April 30.
In a separate radio-TV interview monitored by Sandigan News and Banat Pilipinas News, Tuesday, DILG Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya claimed that some Php 31.7-billion is needed to include those families who did not receive any aid during the first tranche.
“Kailangan ng karagdagang pundo upang walang maiwang pamilya na hindi mabigyan. This additional budget will still be approved by the Inter-Agency Task Force,” USec. Malaya said.
