At least 77 percent of the of the beneficiaries of the cash assistance in the National Capital Region and four adjacent provinces have already received the "ayuda" from the national government.
In a news briefing with President Duterte on Wednesday night, May 5, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año said the 77.19 percentage translates to a total of 17,687,755 out of 22,915,422 NCR-plus beneficiaries already got their financial assistance.
“A total of P17.6 billion was what we have distributed out of the P22.9 billion. We will make sure that by May 15 all our countrymen (in the NCR-plus) will receive aid,” Año said.
In the aid disbursement breakdown, Año said that 78.93 NCR recipients already got their share while 76.99 percent and 68.02 percent of the qualified poor individuals in Bulacan and Cavite, respectively, got their cash aid.
He added that 90.28 percent of the recipients in Laguna were handed out with their aid while 68.41 percent of the beneficiaries in Rizal already got their assistance.
Out of the 108 local government units (LGUs) in the NCR-plus, Año commended 12 localities for completing the disbursement of the "ayuda" to their respective beneficiaries.
They are Tagaytay City, Amadeo in Cavite; Sta. Rosa, Alaminos, Biñan, Cabuyao, Pami, Magdalena, Nagcarlan, Pangil, Pila and Rizal all in Laguna.
With the COVID-19 vaccine supply woes hounding the country, Año said that the DILG has focused on an information campaign that would convince the public to be inoculated with the available vaccines to lessen the risk of getting the virus should they opt to wait for their preferred antidote.
He explained the DILG vaccine monitoring system is a scheme where the masterlist of the priority eligible vaccine recipients are prepared that would expedite the inoculation process once the vaccines arrive.
In the same briefing, Año said that more than 6,000 community pantries have been established in the country.
With the long queues at the various community pantries, Año assured that authorities are closely monitoring their activities to ensure that the proper health safety standards are observed.
“Ang pinakamarami po (community pantry) ay makikita naitn dito sa area ng CALABARZON area ng Region 3 at area ng NCR total of 6,715 community pantries. Sisiguraduhin po natin na nasusunod ang lahat ng minimum health standard dito at katulad po ng utos ninyo (President Duterte) at ang LGUs, ang ating LCEs (local chief executives) at ang ating mga pulis, sisiguraduhin na walang violation sa mass gathering (The most number are in the CALABARZON area of region 3 and NCR area with 6,715 community pantries. We will ensure that all minimum health standards will be observed as you ordered with the LGUs and LCEs and the police ensuring that no mass gathering violations are committed),’’ said Año. (Chito A. Chavez)