Bataan offers cash incentives to villages winning battle vs COVID-19

The provincial government launched a program to compensate with cash incentives villages that maintain zero or reduced cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

The project dubbed “1Bataan Seal of COVID-Free Barangay,” which kicked off in the villages of Mariveles town, also aimed to give front line workers some respite from being overwhelmed by the increasing infections here, said Governor Albert Garcia.

The initiative was contained in resolution no. 23 of the Bataan Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF). The Sangguniang Panlalawigan immediately passed the ordinance

Garcia said the program was based on the 1Bataan Seal of Healthy Barangay that has been implemented in the province even before the pandemic struck.

“Our general goal with the ‘1Bataan Seal of COVID-Free Barangay’ is to completely decrease the positive COVID-19 cases in our province. We launched this first in Mariveles because of the alarming cases of COVID-19 here,” Garcia said in a statement.

He said other towns in the province could join the program later.

“Under this modified health program, the village that will demonstrate the best practice when it comes to management and administration of health policies, especially in contact tracing, that will help reduce their COVID-19 cases will get cash incentives from the provincial government,” Garcia said.

For a village to get a P25,000 incentive, it should post zero COVID-19 cases within 15 days, or reduce its cases by 20% within 15 days from joining the program.

The Provincial Health Office led by Dr Rosanna Buccahan would validate if villages qualify.

Garcia said they would give cash incentives twice a month and these can be divided among the Barangay Health Emergency Response Team (BHERT), Local Contact-Tracing Team (LCTT) and Rural Health Unit (RHU) since they would be the core teams working to achieve this goal.

The first awarding will be held Thursday, September 24, Garcia said, adding that they intend to make this a long-term project to win the battle against COVID-19. – Rappler.com