Persons designated as claimants of financial aid for their households will be allowed to leave their homes even if they do not have quarantine passes, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said on Wednesday.
“In case the designated representative of the family does not have a quarantine pass, our police officers will consider that. First, they will not leave the barangay, meaning they will not leave the city so they will not be a problem for our policemen at checkpoints. We will also be lenient, of course, once they say they will get their financial aid, so they can proceed to the distribution centers,” Eleazar told reporters on the sidelines of his inspection in aid distribution sites in Quezon City.
Eleazar said these persons will also be allowed to buy essential goods after claiming their financial aid.
“Since ang ating mga tindahan o mga botika ay meron din sa mga respective barangays, wala naman magiging problema dun o puwede naman sa katabing barangay as long as nasa loob ng siyudad sila kumuha ng ayuda (Since we have stores or pharmacies in our respective barangays, there will be no problem with that. They can also buy from the stores at the nearby barangay as long as they claimed their financial aid within the city),” he said.
Police officers have been deployed to aid distribution centers in Metro Manila to prevent super spreader events for coronavirus disease 2019.
“We have already coordinated with the local government units of Metro Manila in this regard. Our focus is to ensure an orderly distribution of cash assistance because they also have to be protected from the coronavirus infection,” Eleazar said.
Meanwhile, Joint Task Force Covid Shield commander, Lt. Gen. Israel Dickson said the first day of the distribution of financial aid across Metro Manila has been peaceful and orderly.
“No untoward incident. The distribution of aid is smooth and it is well secured by PNP in coordination with barangay officials so the areas are controlled and well managed,” Dickson told reporters in a text message when sought for a comment.
Metro Manila was placed under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) from August 6 to 20 to arrest the further spread of Covid-19, caused by the highly transmissible Delta variant.
The national government has released almost PHP11 billion to assist low-income families that would be affected by the lockdown.
Each qualified resident in NCR may receive cash assistance worth PHP1,000 or a maximum of PHP4,000 per household.
Source: Philippines News Agency
