Prioritized are the indigents, displaced workers amid COVID-19
By Jun R. Guiang
LAOAG CITY, March 25, 2020–City Mayor Michael Marcos Keon announced that some 20,000 indigent families including displaced jeepney and tricycle drivers, construction workers and others will receive cash assistance and relief goods amid the coronavirus-induced crisis.
Mayor Keon said that aside from food packs, each family in 20,000 households in Laoag will get P1,000 cash assistance in an effort to cushion the impact of economic crisis due to the COVID-19 enhanced community quarantine.
He explained that the relief and cash aid would be drawn from the city calamity fund.
Hence, the use of the calamity fund canceled their first proposal to use the existing city fund of P17 million intended for the salary increase of the city employees and proposed P3 million appropriation to make it a total of P20 million for the emergency assistance.
Mayor Keon said he had directed the city social welfare and development office headed by Ms. Perlita Cabello to help in the orderly distribution with the cooperation of the barangay officials so that all qualified beneficiaries would get their needed food packs and cash assistance on time.
It was learned that initially 40 food packs will be distributed to each qualified household in every barangay. (tri-media report)
