DSWD working to speed up subsidy release, Duterte assures Congress in 'Bayanihan' report
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Social Welfare is looking for ways to speed up the release of subsidies to Filipinos affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the quarantine measures to address it, President Rodrigo Duterte's report to Cogress on Monday said.
It also said that the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases, which handles the country's response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) response, will submit a recommendation on post-April 30 scenarios within the week.
The Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, which granted Duterte special powers to adopt measures against hoarding and profiteering, to procure goods, and medical equipment, and to reallocate funds, requires a weekly report to Congress.
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Luzon has been under enhanced community quarantine for a month and will remain so until at least April 30.
Funding and spending
According to Duterte's April 20 report, the Bureau of the Treasury has "certified that the amount of P100.221 billion, taken from excess revenue from actual dividend collections of government-owned or -controlled corporations (GOCCs), is available to fund additional requirements to address the COVID-19 emergency."
The report also said that the executive branch has so far released P148.9 billion from savings for its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, out of a total of P246.3 billion saved from various sources.
As in the last report from the Palace, the amount allotted for the Department of Social Welfare and Development's (DSWD) social amelioration program stayed at P100 billion with P16.3 already being disbursed by the department, while the Department of Finance is launching a Small Business Wage Subsidy program worth P51 billion to cover millions of workers of small businesses affected by the quarantine.
Under the Department of Labor and Employment, P1.6 billion is allotted for affected formal workers (P1.2 billion utilized), P967 million for displaced workers (P410 million utilized) and P1.5 billion for affected oveseas Filipino workers.
Meanwhile, the Department of Agriculture is rolling out a P3-billion financial subsidy for rice farmers, though only P645 million has been utilized so far.
The social amelioration program
DSWD's social amelioration program is intended to assist affected and low-income sectors amid the enhanced community quarantine, though many families on the ground have said that they have not yet received aid.
According to the report, only 85%, or 3.7 million out of 4.4 million, of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries have received aid, while only 4.6% of non-4Ps beneficiaries have been given support.
Though Malacañang's report said that 617,131 non-4Ps beneficiaries were getting aid, the DSWD earlier Monday placed the number at 875,971.
"The DSWD is exploring other methods to ensure that the payment of emergency cash subsidies to beneficiaries is expedited," the report read.
The Department of Information and Communications Technology is also reportedly finalizing the requirements for the implementation of a computer-based application to hasten the disbursement of funds to poor families.
The National Economic and Development Authority has also approved the health department's proposal for a P5.1-billion COVID-19 emergency response project, which aims to establish COVID-19 facilities and purchase equipment, machines and ambulances.
READ: Government readies 7,000 hospital beds in COVID-19 isolation hubs
According to the report, the Department of Health (DOH) had a total of 8,714 beds and 1,697 mechanical ventilators dedicated for COVID-19 patients, while a total of 36 evacuation centers converted into quarantine and health facilities were also slated to add a total of 1,415 patients to the health system's capacity.
The report also disclosed that the DSWD has included barangay tanods, health workers and day care workers under its social amelioration programs.
'Confinement offers best protection'
On the subject of persons deprived of liberty, Duterte said that the safety of inmates is simply a matter of management.
Over the past month, call have been mounting for the administration to consider probationary releases of low-level and vulnerable prisoners.
READ: DSWD backs temporary release of sickly, vulnerable prisoners during pandemic
Though the chief executive wrote that, "their confinement offers the best protection for them from getting infected [if] strictly managed," he went on to say that the Board of Pardons and Parole is in the process of crafting interim guidelines "for the expeditious release of [Persons Deprived of Liberty] who are already of old age, sickly, or are suffering from terminal illnesses, or with serious disabilities, as well as those eligible for parole or executive clemency in order to decongest penal facilities."
The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology announced Friday that nine of its inmates have tested positive for COVID-19—a troubling development given the 500% congestion rate in the BJMP’s jail facilities that renders social distancing impossible for inmates.
Data released on the government freedom of information portal in January says that over 90% of prison detainees are either awaiting trial, undergoing it, or awaiting final judgement, while 374 out of the country's 467 jail facilities—equivalent to 80.1% of all facilities—were listed as being congested.
The Department of Health on Monday afternoon recorded 200 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the national total to 6,459. — Franco Luna
If you believe you have come into possible contact with infected patients, you may be directed to the proper office of the Department of Health for advice through the following lines: (632) 8651-7800 local 1149/1150 or (632) 165-364.
You may also opt to call the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine at (02) 8807-2631/ 8807-2632/ 8807-2637. The general public has also been encouraged to forward its concerns to the Health Department's dedicated 24/7 COVID-19 hotlines (02) 894-COVID and 1555 (free for all subscribers).
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