Hundreds of residents of Quezon City flocked to the City Hall on Friday, Oct. 29, for the alleged cash aid distribution under the city government’s “Pangkabuhayang QC” program which turned out to be fake news.
According to a report from DZBB, residents lined up in the city hall hoping to receive cash aid of around P20,000 to start a small business.
But the local government clarified that there is no payout that will happen. Instead, it is just accepting applications for the “Pangkabuhayan QC” program.
"We would like to clarify that there is NO CASHOUT/PAYOUT that is being given. Instead, the Small Business and Cooperatives Development and Promotions Office (SBCDPO) is only accepting application forms which will still undergo review and an evaluation process to identify qualified applicants," it said in a statement.
"As a result, people have gathered today in Quezon City Hall, without application forms, hoping to receive outright financial assistance. However, we reiterate that the program requires a verification process where application forms must be submitted in order to check if the person’s current/planned business is legitimate or if there are duplicate applications from the same household," it added.
The city government apologized for the incident that made people line up since Thursday night hoping to receive the financial assistance.
"On behalf of SBCDPO, we sincerely apologize for this incident. We are managing the situation now to ensure that only applicants are in line and that basic health protocols are being implemented," it said.
“We will be implementing additional measures to ensure that this won't happen again on the last day of filing for an application," it added.