By Noreen Jazul
The government has enough funds to respond to the needs of the Filipino people amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Tricycle drivers line up outside Corazon Aquino High school in Quezon City to receive P2,000 financial assistance
(JANSEN ROMERO / MANILA BULLETIN) Department of Budget and Management Secretary Wendel Avisado made this assurance as several regions in the country enter the third stretch of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ). “Up to this moment, the government is still able to provide the needed funds for this current crisis that we are all facing,” Avisado told CNN Philippines on Wednesday. Avisado said the government is now using the current and last year’s fiscal budget to fund the programs and activities being done in response to the COVID-19 situation. The DBM chief said the government has also released all the funds necessary for the Special Amelioration Program of the DSWD as early as April 24. “It’s already in their hands so that the people can be assured that the government has money and has the funds precisely to respond to their needs. It's really the aspect of the distribution that I think we're having some bottlenecks otherwise the funds are already on their hands,” Avisado said. The DBM chief said the government has also been providing assistance to the “entire spectrum of society.” “The President has instructed that all those affected whether informal or formal (workers) should also receive corresponding assistance from the government,” he said.
Tricycle drivers line up outside Corazon Aquino High school in Quezon City to receive P2,000 financial assistance(JANSEN ROMERO / MANILA BULLETIN) Department of Budget and Management Secretary Wendel Avisado made this assurance as several regions in the country enter the third stretch of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ). “Up to this moment, the government is still able to provide the needed funds for this current crisis that we are all facing,” Avisado told CNN Philippines on Wednesday. Avisado said the government is now using the current and last year’s fiscal budget to fund the programs and activities being done in response to the COVID-19 situation. The DBM chief said the government has also released all the funds necessary for the Special Amelioration Program of the DSWD as early as April 24. “It’s already in their hands so that the people can be assured that the government has money and has the funds precisely to respond to their needs. It's really the aspect of the distribution that I think we're having some bottlenecks otherwise the funds are already on their hands,” Avisado said. The DBM chief said the government has also been providing assistance to the “entire spectrum of society.” “The President has instructed that all those affected whether informal or formal (workers) should also receive corresponding assistance from the government,” he said.