The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) on Friday, August 6, released the P10.89-billion funds for cash aid to locked down Metro Manila residents.

DBM Officer-in-Charge and Undersecretary Tina Canda told Rappler the amount covers Metro Manila, benefitting 10.89 million Filipinos. The assistance amounts to P1,000 per individual or up to P4,000 per family.

The cash aid for Laguna, which returns to lockdown on Friday as well, is not yet included. Canda said the DBM has yet to receive how much exactly would be needed for the financial assistance to the province’s residents.

Cash aid funds for Iloilo City and Cagayan de Oro City have already been released to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) when these cities went into enhanced community quarantine in mid-July.

The amount released was sourced from Administrative Order No. 41, which pooled savings or unobligated allotments in 2020.

It was released to the Bureau of Treasury and would be directly downloaded to the local governments through their respective authorized government servicing banks.

Earlier, DBM had said that the fund would be released to the DSWD by Thursday, August 5. There were last-minute changes, particularly concerning the speed of cash aid disbursement, hence the decision to let the local government units disburse the funds on their own.

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chairman Benjamin Abalos previously recommended physical distribution of the financial assistance.

The DSWD and the interior department will monitor the cash aid distribution, DBM said. – Rappler.com