The Department of the Interior and Local Government on Saturday said that the distribution of the national government’s lockdown assistance is a struggle and difficult in areas with a large population like Quezon City.
“We are on the 3rd day ng pamimigay ng ayuda and maraming lessons learned dito,” said DILG Undersecretary Bernardo Florece.
In an interview on Saturday morning, Florece said several barangays in Quezon City had long lines of people waiting for the cash aid because some residents came to collect even though it was not yet their scheduled time.
“Sa ibang lugar na konti lang ang beneficiaries, maganda naman. The other day, nandoon ako sa Mandaluyong, ang ibinibigay nila bagama’t simultaneous ito sa lahat ng barangay, 500 lang per day ang idini-distribute nila compared to Quezon City na malaki ang constituents nila ginawa nilang 2,000 per day pero may schedule pa rin,” he said.
There were instances when the distribution of pandemic aid extended through the whole day and health protocols like social distancing were no longer followed, risking spread of COVID-19.
According to Florece, they leave it up to local chief executives to decide on the best way to distribute the cash aid to their constituents.
“Nasa kanila kung gusto nilang magbahay-bahay o ipapatawag sa gymnasium pero may schedule nga. ‘Pag nagbahay-bahay ka kasi ng 2,000 per day mahihirapan din ang magbibigay. Applicable lang ‘yun sa maliliit na bayan o siyudad,” Florece said.
