CEBU CITY – The city government has allocated a budget for the distribution of relief goods while the city remains under modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ).
City Councilor Raymond Alvin Garcia, Chairman of Committee on Budget and Finance, on Monday said that the City Council agreed to set aside P143 million to assist residents of the 80 barangays in the city.
Also Monday, the city donated P12 million to the Department of Health Central Visayas for the hiring of new nurses.
The city is looking to hire at least 100 nurses to be deployed in government and private hospitals in the city which have been overwhelmed due to rising cases of COVID-19.
In their meeting with Acting Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama and Association of Barangay Councils-Cebu City President Franklyn Ong, Garcia said the amount of financial assistance that will be given to every barangay will depend on its size or population.
Garcia said the City Council is awaiting for Rama to issue the implementing guidelines for the budget to be released.
“If I remember correctly, what we did before was we gave P3 million for big barangays, P2 million for medium barangays and P1 million for small barangays. We’ll have to wait for the implementing guidelines set by the Mayor Rama,” added Garcia.
The implementing guidelines will determine what necessities should be bought and distributed to the barangays.
The relief aids will include rice, canned goods and other basic commodities, Garcia said.
The allocation of the budget came after Rama issued Executive Order 137 dubbed as “Oplan Puyo (Stay Put).”
The city has deployed at least 700 policemen and force multipliers to ensure that only those who are with essential purposes are out on the streets.