Residents affected by the strictest level of lockdown should not expect additional aid despite the extension of the enhanced community quarantine in Metro Manila and neighboring provinces.
On Monday, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque announced that the emergency aid budget downloaded to local government units in the NCR Plus will be the “totality” of subsidy released by the government.
“The government, when it was decided to distribute per family, considered already that the ECQ would be for two weeks,” Roque said. He explained that the government had taken into account that the duration of ECQ was during Holy Week, so only two working days were lost.
LGUs in Metro Manila, Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna, and Cavite are expected to receive the subsidy budget from the national government today, April 5, according to an earlier pronouncement of the Department of Finance. Beneficiaries may receive PHP 1,000 worth of aid per person, but not more than PHP 4,000 per family, with local officials free to decide if aid will be distributed in cash or in kind.
Congress may also decide if they will pass a supplemental budget to fund more aid to affected residents of the NCR Plus.
