With two more weeks to go before the deadline on May 15, 2021, local government units (LGUs) in the National Capital Region (NCR) have now distributed a total of P8.41-billion or 75.28 percent of financial assistance or ayuda to qualified low-income beneficiaries, according to the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

Together with the P8.41-billion financial aid from the national government distributed in NCR, a grand total of P16.29-billion ayuda has now been distributed to beneficiaries in the NCR Plus bubble which includes the provinces of Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna, and Cavite.

DILG Secretary Eduardo M. Año said they commend the NCR LGUs for the systematic and orderly distribution of the ayuda to all qualified beneficiaries despite the challenges of distribution during a pandemic.

“Given that 75% of the ayuda has been distributed, I am confident that the NCR LGUs will be able to complete the distribution by May 15. In fact, some are now close to finishing the distribution of the financial assistance. They have really been putting up the work at hindi rin naman po ito biro sa gitna nang maraming hamon na ating kinakaharap ngayong panahon ng pandemya,” he said.

He said that from April 6-29, 2021, a total of 8,410,659 actual number of beneficiaries have received their ayuda in NCR with Caloocan City leading at 96.31 percent distribution rate amounting to more than P1.29-billion.

As of April 29, 2021, Caloocan City tops NCR LGUs in the distribution of ayuda to qualified citizens followed by Quezon City with 94.96 percent or P2.36-billion; Mandaluyong City with 92.51 percent corresponding to P337-million; and, Navotas City with 90.68 percent or P181-million worth of financial aid.

Meanwhile, the City of Manila (88.39 percent), the Municipality of Pateros (87.69 percent), and City of San Juan (80.40%) were also among the top LGUs that have distributed the most financial assistance to their constituents and are all beyond the 80% distribution percentage.

LGUs from Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna, and Cavite which are also part of the “NCR Plus” bubble were also able to tally a high distribution percentage of 67.11 percent and are more than halfway through the dissemination of ayuda in their jurisdictions.

Laguna leads with 81.29 percent or P2.2-billion worth of financial assistance distributed as of April 29, 2021 followed by Bulacan with 67.22 percent or P1.99-billion; Rizal with 64.61 percent or P1.69-billion; and, Cavite with 57.82 percent or P1.99-billion.

“With the extended deadline and the proactive stance of our LGUs, most of which have registered high compliance rate in their ayuda distribution, we can see that all financial aid will be distributed before the deadline we set,” said the DILG Secretary.

Original Article at: https://dilg.gov.ph/news/DILG-75-or-P84-billion-ayuda-distributed-to-qualified-beneficiaries-in-NCR/NC-2021-1079