Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año reported on Wednesday night that the distribution of the national government's financial assistance to the NCR (National Capital Region)- plus is now at 99.67 percent complete.
A breakdown of the disbursed cash aid revealed that 99.9 percent was distributed to the recipients in NCR, 100 percent in Bulacan, 98.45 percent in Cavite, 99.74 percent in Laguna and 99.68 percent in Rizal.
In a briefing with the President, Año noted that the local government units (LGUs) that failed to locate the cash aid beneficiaries in their areas despite their all-out efforts have returned the money.
He added the 22,838,875 qualified individuals already received their monetary aid with at least 93 local government units completing the distribution of the cash aid to the beneficiaries in their respective turfs.
The DILG chief also ordered the LGUs to simplify the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) vaccination registration system and to provide assistance to those who may need them in a bid to expedite the inoculation process.
Año disclosed that the DILG will soon issue a memorandum to the country’s local chief executives (LCE) with the goal of “fast tracking inoculation efforts.”
“Let’s speed up the masterlist, let’s use simple data, the simpler the better,” Año said.
With the successive mass gathering incidents in the past few days that hugged the headlines, Año said he will issue a memorandum circular (MC) that provides the barangay captains with much larger roles in strictly enforcing the community health regulations in their jurisdictions.
The MC orders the barangay captains to further strengthen their efforts in maintaining a safer and more orderly environment in the midst of the pandemic, ensure that health protocols are imposed to prevent the COVID-19 transmission and strict implementation of community quarantine rules.
He assured the President that the regulations listed in the memorandum are mandatory.
Año enumerated the three mass gathering incidents in Gubat sa Ciudad in Caloocan City last May 9 where 20 swimming party goers were tested COVID-19 positive, the May 9 to 11 party celebrations in Barangay Nagkaisang Nayon in Quezon City where 54 were found positive for the virus and the May 23 swimming picnic in Bakas River in Barangay Tiktik in Norzagaray, Bulacan where contact tracing is on-going.
Irked by these incidents, Duterte ordered the arrest of barangay chairpersons who failed to enforce the prohibitions on parties, picnics, and other mass gatherings to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
He insisted that the barangay chiefs are liable for dereliction of duty under the Revised Penal Code if they fail to prevent such gatherings in their areas.