Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar, chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), ordered on Saturday, August 7, police commanders in Metro Manila to coordinate with their Local Government Units (LGUs) for the distribution of cash aid to qualified recipients in areas under Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ).
"The coordination is to check the kind of assistance that the PNP could provide for peaceful and orderly distribution of the cash aid," said Eleazar.
"We in the PNP are ready to provide assistance. This is actually part of the order of our SILG (Secretary of the Interior and Local Government) Eduardo Año to ensure that health protocols are followed," he added.
More than P10 billion worth of cash assistance were already released by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to the LGUs in Metro Manila as a form of government assistance for those who would be affected by the ECQ from August 6 to 20.
Año said the distribution of cash aid in areas under ECQ could begin next week.
Eleazar said their concern is to ensure that the aid distribution in localities do not become super spreader events.
“Our main objective is to avoid cash aid distribution activities turning into super spreader events and we can do that by ensuring that a system is in place and there is an orderly process," said Eleazar.