Low-income households in areas under modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) are still eligible to receive the second tranche of the national government’s financial assistance program, Malacañang confirmed on Saturday.
“Kasama po sa second tranche ang MECQ (Those who are living in areas under MECQ will also get the second tranche [of cash aid]),” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in Laging Handa.
Meanwhile, the national government is still looking at possible sources of additional funding to augment the second wave of the Social Amelioration Program (SAP). The President himself ordered Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado to find ways to realign the 2020 budget to finance the government’s emergency cash subsidies for low-income households.
Malacañang has yet to release clear guidelines for the payout and distribution of the second phase of SAP. Roque added that priority will shift to the families living in areas that remain under strict restrictions in enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).
“Sa second tranche, hinihintay po natin ang memo galing po sa Office of the Executive Secretary. Siguro po, paunang ilalabas ay sigurado po, yung mga ayuda doon sa mga lugar na nanatili sa ECQ (We are still awaiting the memorandum from the Office of the Executive Secretary. Perhaps, we will first release the cash assistance in areas still placed under ECQ),” he said.
To date, ECQ is enforced in the cities of Cebu and Mandaue from May 16 to 31, according to the latest issuance of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID). Metro Manila, Laguna, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Zambales, and Angeles City are put under MECQ. Meanwhile, the rest of the country prepares to transition to GCQ.
Under the SAP, low-income households are entitled to get emergency cash subsidies worth between PHP5,000 to PHP8,000, depending on the regional wage rates.
