LGUs in the Philippines

Metro Manila mayors seek extended deadline for distributing ‘ayuda’

Dwight de Leon

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Metro Manila mayors seek extended deadline for distributing ‘ayuda’

CASH AID. Barangay Santa Cruz residents brave the noon heat and long lines along Roosevelt Avenue in Quezon City receive their emergency fund assistance or 'ayuda' from the government on April 8, 2021.

Photo by Jire Carreon/Rappler

'Mahihirapang matapos iyong sinasabing 15 days,' says MMDA chair Benhur Abalos

Metro Manila mayors will ask the national government to extend the deadline for distributing ayuda or cash aid to residents affected by the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), the strictest form of lockdown in the country.

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chair Benhur Abalos said this during a televised Malacañang briefing on Monday, April 12, as some local government units (LGU) in the region struggle to dispense the financial assistance within the 15-day period set by the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

LGUs in Metro Manila only started receiving the funds for the ayuda from the national government on April 6, or more than a week since Metro Manila and four nearby provinces, collectively known as “NCR Plus,” were placed under ECQ.

Mahihirapang matapos iyong sinasabing 15 days…. Susulat kami sa DILG in the next few days para humingi ng palugit (It’s difficult to complete the distribution within 15 days. We will write to the DILG in the next few days to ask for an extension of the deadline),” Abalos said.

Metro Manila mayors seek extended deadline for distributing ‘ayuda’

Abalos added that one issue that LGUs have to deal with is making sure that qualified low-income individuals do not form a crowd in distribution centers.

We also have to balance e. Kung bibilisan mo, baka magsiksikan iyong mga tao. Kaya kinakailangang ibabahay-bahay mo iyan e. Pero kung ibabahay-bahay mo iyan, hahaba naman ng panahon,” he said. (If we will speed up distribution, people might crowd up in distribution centers. Meanwhile, if we do house-to-house distribution, it will take some time before we finish.)

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Last week, long lines filled distribution centers in Quezon City with queues extending past midnight.

Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte apologized for overcrowding in distribution centers, but added that it was difficult for LGUs to distribute supplemental aid to all qualified low-income individuals in a short amount of time.

In a statement to Rappler, Interior Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said they are open to extending the deadline of supplemental aid distribution, but only on a “case-to-case basis.”

“The LGUs will need to submit a progress report of their distribution and the DILG and DSWD [Department of Social Welfare and Development] will make the decision on the basis of the reasons cited by the LGU,” Malaya said on Monday.

Only one-time aid

While “NCR Plus” is already under the more relaxed modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ), the supplemental aid that many qualified individuals have yet to receive is due to the ECQ implementation that began on March 29.

Some 22.9 million low-income individuals are entitled to P1,000 worth of cash or in-kind assistance from the P22.9 billion in left over funds of the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act.

Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado said on March 29 that only 80% of low-income individuals are covered by the supplemental aid for the first week of the ECQ, which took place from March 29 to April 4.

While the ECQ was extended for another week, Avisado said that there would only be a one-time cash assistance.

Economists have warned that meager cash aid to poor households may force people to leave their homes during the strict lockdown in “NCR Plus.” – Rappler.com

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Dwight de Leon

Dwight de Leon is a multimedia reporter who covers President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the Malacañang, and the Commission on Elections for Rappler.