By Chito Chavez The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said on Wednesday that the government has prioritized to provide assistance to the poorest of the poor, as mounting complaints of undelivered food packs have hounded the local government units (LGUs) and the department itself. DILG Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya,
(PCOO / MANILA BULLETIN) In a news briefing, DILG Undersecretary and spokesperson Jonathan Malaya expressed frustration that well-to-do residents and even those living in subdivisions, including government personnel who are paid their salaries despite the lockdown, have scampered to get their hands on the food packs. Being a third world country, Malaya reminded the affluent and middle class families that the government cannot afford to provide assistance to all, citing that daily wage earners or those belonging to the “no-work, no-pay’’ group are prioritized. He also warned erring barangay chairmen not to impose non-existent guidelines, like the requirement for residents to present their voter’s identification cards, before being given food packs and quarantine passes. He explained that politics should be set aside during these critical times, especially with the health emergency crisis the country is currently experiencing. Malaya also noted that the DILG would allocate P275 billion to assist LGUs in giving aid to poor families in their communities amid the enhanced community quarantine imposed in Luzon, as well as in cities and provinces that are in lockdown in other parts of the country. He said financial assistance will be provided to the LGUs whose emergency funds have dried out with the imposition of the enhanced community quarantine. Malaya added the funds will be available following President Duterte’s signing of the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, which grants his administration more powers to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The President placed the entire country under a state of calamity to allow the LGUs to use their emergency funds to provide aid, Malaya explained. The enhanced community quarantine in Luzon has placed more than 50 million people under lockdown. Other cities and provinces in the Visayas and Mindanao have also enforced restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Malaya, however, reiterated his call for LGUs to strictly adhere to the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) guidelines as varying restrictions have caused chaos, disarray, and public confusion. He noted that some LGUs have the tendency to overdo things and go beyond the government-set guidelines in a bid to prevent or contain the spread of COVID-19 in their respective turfs.