Pasay City Mayor Imelda Rubiano has asked the Department of Interior and Local Government to give them more time to distribute the cash assistance for families affected by the community quarantine.
The DILG gave local government units 15 days to complete the distribution.
But according to Rubiano, they could not beat the deadline because the city government wanted to ensure that only legitimate beneficiaries would receive the allotted financial assistance.
Pasay earlier received P348 million in cash aid, which will be distributed to more than 123,000 individual beneficiaries.
Rubiano said they received the fund from the national government late Monday afternoon and immediately started posting the names of beneficiaries that same night.
Of the amount, only 10 percent has been distributed so far, equivalent to some 4,000 individuals.
The city chief executive assured that all listed beneficiaries will receive their “ayuda” even as there will be a second batch of the distribution.
She said they were also trying to include those that were waitlisted in the previous handing out of assistance.
“We try to include if we can afford those others who have not received in the past and those individuals with disability,” she said.
To avoid chaos and confusion, the city government allows only the head of the family to receive the money and on behalf of all beneficiaries in one household to avoid overcrowding in distribution areas.
Meanwhile, Pasay City is already done with the vaccination of its health workers, including personnel from even small diagnostic clinics. It is also completing the vaccination for persons with comorbidities and has started the vaccination of the elderly.
“While we encourage online registration, we understand that not everyone is knowledgeable with computers, so we accept even walk-in applicants,” said Rubiano.