MANILA, Philippines — The government should extend at least P10,000 cash assistance to contractual workers and those in the informal economy who will be most affected by the community quarantine imposed in Metro Manila due to COVID-19, Senator Risa Hontiveros said Sunday. According to the Senator, around 650,000 Filipino households will become the “new poor” in Metro Manila alone due to the economic implications of the lockdown. “The government should immediately track down and extend PhP 10,000 assistance to these households which will mostly come from vulnerable contractual workers and workers in the informal economy,” she added. The same cash assistance should also be immediately disbursed to poor households within the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) household targeting system, Hontiveros stressed. Hontiveros explained that companies laying off workers and COVID-19’s adverse effects on the informal economy will place households more at risk in terms of their food security and health.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer March 15, 2020 02:48 UTC