Last night, Apr. 13, President Duterte stated that the national government is tasking barangay captains and mayors to determine and list all citizens who have not been covered by the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Social Amelioration Program (SAP).
The government, according to the recently enacted Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, will be giving amelioration funds to low-income families. An allocated budget of P18 million is to be distributed to them with the coordination of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
[READ: LOOK: Netizens aren’t happy with Pres. Duterte’s “emergency powers”]However, not all families have been listed under the DSWD’s SAP which is based on their 2015 census of income-earners in the country.
Duterte claims that it is the Left’s fault that the national ID system is not successful to this day. According to the president, the IDs would have helped the country in identifying all low-income earners as all the government would need to do is ask the Department of Industry and Labor (DILG) which of the families are in need of help for them to be given food.
Duterte adds that those who have not yet received their funds will be given it as long as they wait. He states that our government will have to loan money from other countries to do so.
“But kung wala ka, maghintay ka and we will come up [with money.] Tutal sabi nga hindi tayo maubusan ng pera. Mag-utang tayo nang mag-utang, mag-utang […] Ipagbili natin lahat hanggang maubos tapos punta na tayo lahat sa Amerika.”
Department of Finance Undersecretary Karl Chua, also present during the address, suggested to the president that small businesses should be given a wage subsidy of P51 billion to address the 3.4 million middle-class workers whose jobs stopped with the temporary closing of small businesses under quarantine.
[READ: What about the middle class? Pres. Duterte asks IATF to study aid for middle income earners]The President also denounces the discrimination happening against healthcare workers. To handle this, he orders the police to arrest any person who is caught doing so and adds that they should be starved if they demand legal help.
“Ngayon, kung idemanda ka, sabihin mo ako. Ituro mo sa korte siya […] At ‘yung nasa preso naman, huwag mong pakainin. Hayaan mo magutom,” the president said.
He also added that families who don’t report deaths or hospitals who refuse patients will be met with imprisonment as well and orders that all hospitals must accept admission under all circumstances.
Once an antibody is found, the president is likely to lift the lockdown. Those who cannot afford the antibodies will not be aided by the government anymore as the quarantine will have already ended.
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles and COVID-19 Chief Implementer Carlito Galves, Jr. then explained that it is possible for the Office of Civil Defense to purchase P3.3 billion worth of test kits that are approved by USA’s Food and Drug Administration in order to successfully carry out mass testing operations.
There will also be more face masks given to the country–six million from the Indian Chamber and two planes filled with masks from Rex Daryanani.
The government is currently studying more efficient ways to allocate the budget in order to accommodate both middle and low income classes. The country now has a total of 4,932 positive cases for COVID-19, with 315 deaths and 242 recoveries.
Header photo screengrabbed from Presidential Communications live broadcast
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