Saleswoman Millet Guerrero has long written off meriendas or snack time in her household of five to ride out pay cuts and lockdowns and with her income again taking a hit during the fresh ECQ, she's thinking of ways to make the the most out of the ayuda or cash aid.
Guerrero is entitled to P4,000 -- P1,000 for each of the four members of her home -- for the 15-day lockdown that is scheduled to end on Aug. 20. In Metro Manila, distribution is scheduled on Aug. 12. During the first lockdown in March 2020 that lasted two months, she was qualified to receive P8,000.
"Pasalamat na lang din pero sa realidad, hindi talaga sapat 'yun... Wala ka naman magawa kaysa wala kang ma-receive 'di ba? 'Pag nagreklamo ka pa, baka tanggal pa pangalan mo [sa listahan]," she said.
"Siyempre minsan may skips, hindi naman kailangan magmeryenda," she told reportr.
Is P1,000 enough?
The government alloted P13.1 billion for cash incentives for about 10.7 million indigent residents, or 80% of the entire population in Metro Manila. The P1,000 per person amount is set under the third Bayanihan or pandemic response law.
"The studies of our economic team in Congress have shown that providing each person P1,000 is equitable. It’s more equitable because no Filipino will be left behind," said Speaker Lord Allan Velasco, who is one of the bill's authors.
So what can you buy with P1,000? Based on the Department of Agriculture's prices of goods in select markets in Metro Manila as of Aug. 9, you will need approximately P450 to cook nilagang baboy with 1 kilo of protein. That's about half of the P1,000 ayuda.
The P450 bill includes 1 kilo of pork (P330/kg), a medium-sized onion (P6 per piece), half a head of cabbage (half kilo or P90), two medium-sized potatoes (about P23 for 300g), two pork cubes (P10) , pepper, salt, and cooking oil.
In 2018, the Philippine Statistics Authority said a family of five needs a minimum P10,481 per month to survive with the basic necessities. These families were in the threshold of poverty at that time, humanitarian group Oxfam Philippines said.
A separate study by data aggregator iPrice Group said a person living in Metro Manila needs P50,798 every month to spend on rent, food, transportation and utilities, making the Philippines third to Singapore and Bangkok as the most expensive cities to live in Southeast Asia.
The metropolis also has an average monthly salary of P18,900, meaning a person in Manila needs to earn more than twice the monthly average or keep a side hustle to make ends meet.
"This means P4,000 or less for half a month would be quite inadequate. We haven’t factored in inflation. This might force many Filipino families to go hungry," Oxfam Philippines' country director Lot Felizco told reportr in a statement.
What's next?
Malacanang had said in defense of the ayuda amount that it was meant to supplement, not replace household incomes. There are also other forms of relief that such as the deferment on loan and utilities payments during hard lockdowns.
Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate said the P1,000 ayuda is a "pittance", and won't be enough to sustain a family for the duration of ECQ.
"Subukan kaya nilang [lawmakers] mabuhay ng P1,000 lang ang hawak sa dalawang linggo o kaya ay P4,000 lang para sa buo nilang pamilya para maranasan nila ang hirap ng ating mga kababayan lalo na ang mga 'no work, no pay'," he said.
The IBON Foundation think-tank said it was "critically urgent" for the government to pass its proposed Bayanihan 3, particularly the ayuda component, to help the poor even under more relaxed COVID-19 restrictions.
Between March and April 2021, which covered the second ECQ implemented in the NCR Plus bubble -- Metro Manila, Bulacan, Rizal, Cavite, and Laguna -- 2.1 million jobs were lost, PSA data showed.
Oxfam's Felizco said the government aid infrastructure must be improved as the pandemic rages. "There is definitely a need to set up better welfare schemes that will help more people, especially those who are already in need to begin with, and those who will have to stop working because of the ECQ restrictions."
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