Angelle De Leon
President Rodrigo Duterte has agreed with Cavite Governor Jonvic Remulla to also include middle-income class families as beneficiaries of the government’s cash aid program.
In a televised address on Monday, the President said middle-class families are also feeling the pinch of the work stoppage following the Luzon-wide lockdown.
Remulla earlier wrote to the President, appealing to include the middle class in the government’s cash subsidy program for families affected by the Luzon-wide quarantine to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Remulla noted that the present public health crisis affects everyone, not just the poorest of the poor, but also those individuals who have “built much but not enough.”
The President called Remulla’s appeal “valid.”
“I agree. I know the political-economic horizon of the country,” Duterte said.
However, the President noted that the P275-billion supplemental budget that the government prepared to address the COVID-19 pandemic would not be enough to attend to everyone’s needs.
Duterte then ordered Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III to look for more funds.
“I’m calling on Secretary of Finance to generate (more),” the President said.
“Magnakaw ka, manghiram ka. Wala akong pakialam. Produce mo ‘yung pera,” he added.
Duterte also urged everyone, especially the well-to-do, to help in any way they can as he said the government would not be able to handle all, especially now that the economy is at a standstill.
The President also said he does not know until when the COVID-19 problem would last.
However, Duterte expressed belief that a vaccine is the only solution.
In the meantime, the President urged everyone to be more understanding and patient and pray to God that the country will survive the coronavirus pandemic.
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