President Duterte has approved the grant of P1,000-worth of aid for 22.9 million Filipinos displaced by the reimposition of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Metro Manila, Rizal, Bulacan, Cavite and Laguna.

Photos released by administration ally and Senator Christopher "Bong" Go showed President Duterte signing on Monday night, March 29, an order authorizing the release of funds for the provision of aid to individuals affected by the one-week implementation of the ECQ.

Duterte confirmed this in his public address aired later.

"'Yong mga nadiskaril sa finances nila, na-ano kayo sa pera, hirap kayo kasi hindi makalabas, magdasal lang kayo (Those whose finances were affected, who are having difficulty with money because you cannot get out). We will give you the ayuda, the assistance, help," the President said.

Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado explained, however, that the assistance will be given in kind, as what was recommended earlier.

Under the Department of Budget and Management's (DBM) proposed supplemental amelioration program, P1,000 worth of aid will be given to each affected individual but "not more than P4,000 per family," Avisado said.

Half of the target beneficiaries, or at 11.2 million, will be from the National Capital Region (NCR); while 3.4 million will be from Cavite, 3 million will be from Bulacan; 2.7 million will be from Laguna; and 2.6 million will be from Rizal.

They comprise 80 percent of the estimated low-income population in the so-called "NCR plus" bubble.

Avisado said he Interagency Task Force (IATF) on the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease agreed to directly release the fund to local government units (LGUs) for distribution "to affected individuals in kind".

"To ensure that food and other non-food requirements are adequately provided. So wala po tayong cash po dito (we will not be giving out cash). We will leave to the LGUs…na sila po ang mag-allocate nito base doon sa approval ninyo na at least P1,000 per person (that they allocate the funds based on your approval of the at least P1,000 grant per person)," Avisado explained to Duterte.

Since the number of beneficiaries were increased from the target beneficiaries under the social amelioration program under the expired "Bayanihan to Heal as One", or Bayanihan 1 Act, the amount to be distributed would be lower than the P5,000 to P8,000 cash aid previously provided to each households.

Avisado said the funds for the supplemental amelioration, amounting to about P23 billion, will be sourced from the unused allocations under the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act, or Bayanihan 2, which gave the President the authority realign unused government funds for COVID-19 response.

The law's validity was extended until June 30 this year.

The supplemental program will be given "as soon as" the DBM receives Duterte's approval, Avisado said. He said the necessary issuances have already been prepared for the fund's release.

Avisado said he "expects" LGUs to augment the funds to be downloaded to them due to the ballooning number of displaced individuals in their jurisdictions.

"Tugunan na nila, sila na ang maghanap ng paraan na madagdagan pa nila (They should address it, find a way to increase their funds for the assistance)," he said.

Asked by Duterte "how sure would we be" that the assistance will reach the beneficiaries, Avisado said that like in the Bayanihan 1, the LGUs will be required to submit a report detailing their disbursement and utilization of the supplemental amelioration funds.

The reports would also be forwarded to the Commission on Audit (COA), he added.

Duterte told local chief executives to just adopt the lists they used in the rollout of the subsidies under Bayanihan 1.

"Because that would ensure that the real benefits are really given to the real person," he said as he recalled the "mess" in the first wave of the social amelioration program.

The President said he wants the supplemental amelioration rolled out within the first week of April.