(Eagle News) – President Rodrigo Duterte appealed to the private sector, especially the big corporations and companies, to help the government in the present national emergency, by giving assistance to the poor and the informal sector.
In a late night speech to the nation on Monday, Duterte said that the government has already prepared P200 billion for distribution to poor families.
This was provided for in the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act where some 18,000 poor families would be given some P5,000 to P8,000 each month, depending on their region’s set minimum wage.
But he also urged the private sector, as well as those “who have more” to help those who have less.
“I still count on everyone to also look out after their fellowmen — their countrymen. To those who have more in life, I implore you to share in the cost of taking care of the less fortunate and keeping our society intact,” the President said.
“They have also contributed to our prosperity in one way or [another]. So, let us support them in this crisis,” he said.
Duterte said that employers should also “do their part in protecting the welfare of the millions of Filipino households that belong to the formal sector and depend on their employers for continuous livelihood.”
The President said that the P200 billion would be reserved for the “low-income households” badly affected by the crisis.
These are the families who live on “day-to-day subsistence wages” or “no-work, no-pay” arrangements.
“Let it be said that, in the hour of our country’s greatest need, we all looked out for and helped each other. Buksan natin ang ating puso sa nangangailangan,” the President added.
