Nograles wonders why LGUs complained about insufficiency of target number of beneficiaries of cash aid

April 8, 2020

The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases has wondered why the local government units were complaining that many low-income families could not be covered by the Social Amelioration Program of the government despite the allocation for about 18 million of them.

IATF Spokesperson and Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles raised this during his virtual press briefing on Wednesday, noting that even if there were 15 million low-income families in the 2015 government census, the number of beneficiaries under SAP has been increased already to 18 million.

"Now, we're wondering with 18 million families, then we have the 15 million families in the 'Listahanan (list) of the DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development), we added three million (families), the LGUs are still saying that it's insufficient," he said.

He explained that based on the 2015 government census, there were 24 million families in the country.

Under Republic Act No. 11469 or the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, President Rodrigo Duterte was given the authority to provide emergency subsidy to around 18 million low income households, amounting to a minimum of P5,000 to a maximum of P8,000 a month for two months based on the prevailing regional minimum wage rates.

As to the call by some quarters to also provide assistance to middle income families who are also affected by the ECQ due to COVID-19, Nograles said there was still no decision on it.

If the request would be granted, he said that the number of beneficiaries would be taken from the remaining six million families out of the total 24 million families in the country.

"If you're going to ask me who are these middle income (families), it's somewhere here, inside the six million. Of course, it's not six million families, it's less than because we also have high income (families)," he explained.

Echoing President Rodrigo Duterte, he said if the middle income families would also be granted assistance, the government has to raise more funds.

But any aid to the middle income families would not fall under SAP.

There were proposals that the assistance to middle income households be in the form of free utility bills and house rentals to cover April and May.

But Nograles said the government has to look into legalities since those are private transactions.

"Although the utilities have a public aspect, but the rents are mostly private transactions. So, like I said, I don't want to speak for the group that President Duterte formed to study the benefits that can be given to our middle income earners," he said. Celerina Monte/DMS