Millions of middle-income wage earners in the Philippines who have not received their salary due to the COVID-19 crisis will be given cash assistance by May, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said on Tuesday.
He said President Rodrigo Duterte approved the "Small Business Wage Subsidy Program" — which is seen to help middle-class families — during the Inter-Agency Task Force meeting on Monday night.
The program seeks to help around 3.4 million workers employed by small businesses that are affected by the enhanced community quarantine enforced over Luzon to curb the spread of COVID-19. The affected workers will receive a one-time financial assistance worth P5,000 to P8,000, depending on the minimum wage in their region.
The government will prioritize giving help to businesses who are paying their contributions to the Social Security System and paying taxes with the Bureau of Internal Revenue.
"Ito po ‘yung sagot natin doon sa tinatawag na middle-income workers natin... Ang estimate ni Secretary Dominguez, this will actually cover 1.6 million small businesses that have ceased to operate dahil sa ECQ or who are applying the skeleton workforce to stay afloat. Ang potential workers na makakabenepisyo dito is 3.4 million workers," Nograles said in a media briefing.
[Translation: This is our response to the appeal for help for middle-income workers... Finance Secretary Sonny Dominguez estimates the program will cover 1.6 million small businesses that have ceased to operate due to the enhanced community quarantine or those who are on skeleton workforce in order to stay afloat. We estimate that 3.4 million workers will benefit from this program.]
The Department of Trade and Industry classifies "small businesses" as those that employ 10 to 99 workers.
The Cabinet official clarified there are some guidelines as to who can claim the aid.
"Ito ay ibibigay sa empleyado na affected, but the employee must have been employed by the company as of March 1. Dapat hindi pa siya binabayaran ng employer niya, so for that month hindi pa siya nababayaran. Lahat covered, except on leave and except ang mga nag-avail na ng SSS unemployment benefits. Dapat hindi na-retrench or fire ng kumpanya ang empleyado. Dapat ang empleyado hindi mag-resign, iyun ang kondisyon. Ang point dito ayaw natin mawalan ng trabaho ang empleyado," he said.
[Translation: This will be given to affected employees, but there are guidelines to be followed. The employee must be employed by March 1. They will receive government help if they have not received their salary from their employers. Those ho are on leave or availed of SSS unemployment benefits are not eligible. They should still be employed, that's the condition. The point of this program is to make sure workers will not lose their jobs.]
Those eligible to receive help through the "Small Business Wage Subsidy Program" will receive the cash aid through their SSS UMID cards, their bank accounts, or e-wallets. The financial assistance will be carried out in two tranches: Between May 1 to 15 and May 16 to 30.
Finance Secretary Sonny Dominguez earlier said the government will allocate up to ₱50 billion to support millions of affected employees in the micro, small and medium enterprises sector, but the source of funding remains unclear.
He added the proposed financial assistance for all middle-class families in the country looks to doubtful to be given "at this point in time."
The entire of Luzon as well as other regions in the country implemented enhanced community quarantine measures until the end of April, in an effort to curb the spread of the deadly disease. The directive, which limits movement of people, has left over a million Filipinos jobless.
The government's social amelioration program currently covers only the "poorest of the poor," with the low-income households expected to receive ₱5,000 to ₱8,000 worth of monthly assistance.
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