Smooth distribution of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) cash aid was observed in Caloocan and Quezon cities—two of Metro Manila's biggest cities—on the first day of the payout Wednesday.
Caloocan Mayor Oca Malapitan earned praises from Interior and Local Government Usec. Jonathan Malaya and Social Welfare and Development Sec. Joselito Bautista for the city's "rapid and organized cash distribution process."
At SMNI covered court in North Caloocan, some chairs, placed several meters apart from each other for the beneficiaries, were even not occupied.
On Tuesday, Malapitan announced that only 2,000 residents per payout site would be served, and advised them to wait for a confirmation message before going to their respective venues.
Wednesday's situation was a stark contrast of what happened during the previous cash aid distributions, wherein people who fell in line as early as dusk crammed into payout sites, almost face-to-face with each other.
"We should expect a fast distribution of cash aid here in Caloocan, with the help of text messaging and other online digital technologies for scheduling, distribution and documentation system," Malapitan said.
The local government is targeting to complete the cash distribution to 410,000 beneficiaries in 15 days, he added.
Meanwhile, the Quezon City local government said around 43,000 beneficiaries received their cash aid on Wednesday alone without having to violate the prohibition against mass gathering.
The local government made it possible after Mayor Joy Belmonte said barangay officials implemented various schemes for scheduling, including color coding or by stubs, to ensure that only a limited number of people would go to a certain payout site.