Enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) cash aid will be distributed this week here and in Gingoog City, Misamis Oriental, the Department of Social Welfare and Development Region 10 (DSWD-10) said on Tuesday.
DSWD-10 will download the funds to the city governments as early as Friday as stipulated in the memorandum of agreement (MOA), regional director Mari-Flor Dollaga said.
“While we are praying that this Covid-19 will end, our partners in the national government in Northern Mindanao are ensuring the provision of the basic needs of the low-income families during this ECQ,” she said in a statement.
Cagayan de Oro and Gingoog cities have been under ECQ since July 16.
Each resident can receive PHP1,000, with a maximum of PHP4,000 per family.
The MOA, also signed by representatives of the Department of the Interior and Local Government Region 10, 4th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army, and Police Regional Office 10, aims to harmonize and fast-track the distribution of the relief assistance.
Based on the profiled list of beneficiaries, this city has 191,956 family beneficiaries, while Gingoog City has 53,000 families.
A total of 49,344 family food packs from DSWD has also been delivered.
CDO police cooperation
Meanwhile, the Cagayan de Oro City Police Office (COCPO) appealed to the public not to add fuel to the fire as the local government and health authorities battle the Covid-19 pandemic.
The police’s statement came in in the wake of the exchange of words between Lt. Col. Lemuel Gonda, COCPO deputy commander, and Mayor Oscar Moreno.
In previous media interviews, Gonda alleged that Moreno failed to implement the recommendations drawn up by the regional interagency task force to impose localized lockdown in areas where there are Covid-19 cases.
Moreno clarified the city government had implemented 40 focused containment since last year.
This year, Moreno said he did not order its imposition as it was deemed impractical because “the police cannot do 24 hours a day monitoring”.
Moreno added this city was the first local government in the country to institute said measure and it was the decided course of action since Cagayan de Oro was still building its own isolation facilities then.
The COCPO leadership issued a statement Monday, asking residents not to amplify the issue, especially on social media.
“Therefore, instead of condemning/criticizing each other, let’s unite on how to contain the spread of this terrible disease and saving our economy. Each of us has a role to play in overcoming this pandemic. By working together, we can emerge from this stronger and better connected,” Maj. Evan Viñas, COCPO spokesperson, said. (PNA)
