President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on Monday said some local government units (LGUs) may have to take a back seat in the distribution of financial assistance for families affected by the imposition of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).

During his pre-recorded Talk to the People, Duterte has ordered the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to take over the cash aid distribution in some disorganized LGUs.

“Kayo na ang magbigay ng mga ayuda pati yung kung anong maitulong ng national government sa local government units na walang alam, na hindi marunong mag-organize ng mga distribution and it only results in disorders. So, tinanggal ko muna yan sa kanila at ibinigay ko doon sa DILG pati ang DSWD. Kayo na muna hanggang matuto sila (You take over the distribution of the assistance and whatever aid the national government could give to the local government units that know nothing and could not properly organize the distribution and it only results in disorders. So I temporarily took it away from them and I will assign it to the DILG and DSWD. So for the meantime, do it until they learn),” he said.

Duterte said some LGUs don’t know how to set up an organized distribution process of cash assistance.

“Nakita naman ninyo, it’s all on TV, na wala talagang kaalam-alam itong mga mayor na ito so tanggalan natin muna ng itong pamimigay ng pag distribute ng pera pati tulong ng gobyerno (You see it’s all in television that these mayors know nothing so for the meantime let’s remove their responsibility to distribute the money and other assistance from the national government),” he said.

He did not name the LGUs but pointed out their mistakes on the pandemic responses had happened several times.

“In so many instances, they cannot organize,” he said. “And several times they blamed other people other than himself.”

DILG Secretary Eduardo Año said the government has allocated PHP10.89 billion funds to more than 10 million low-income Filipinos residing in the National Capital Region, which is now under the most restrictive quarantine classifications, effective until August 20.

Meanwhile, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, in a Palace press briefing on Monday, said the poor families in the provinces of Laguna and Bataan, which are also under ECQ, are set to receive cash assistance.

Roque said the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has proposed giving PHP2.715 billion for Laguna’s poor households while budget for Bataan is still being determined by the DBM and DILG.

Each qualified resident in the ECQ areas may receive cash assistance of PHP1,000 each or up to a maximum PHP4,000 per family. (PNA)