The Philippine government started on Wednesday to roll out the P200 billion cash amelioration program to assist some 18,000 poor households who are greatly affected by the coronavirus disease pandemic.

In a virtual press briefing on Wednesday, Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases spokesperson and Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said all concerned government agencies have been coordinating with each other for the implementation of the program.

"Yes, this pushes through on April 1. We have rolled out the social amelioration package," he said, citing the work being done by the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Agriculture and the local government units, among others.

Under the P200-billion Emergency Subsidy Program, each of the 18 million families will receive subsidies ranging from P5,000 to P8,000 depending on the wage rate per region.

"Our local chief executives have already been advised of the need to submit the list of beneficiaries in their respective areas to the national government, and we urge the public to cooperate and work with their LGUs so that they can receive these subsidies at the soonest possible time," he said.

For those not familiar with the process, Nograles urged them to coordinate with their respective LGUs or to visit the DSWD Facebook page for guidelines on how to fill out the Social Amelioration Card in order to receive the assistance.

On reports quoting DSWD Secretary Rolando Joselito Bautista that the amount would not totally be in cash, but with goods also, Nograles said he has to check this. Celerina Monte/DMS