(Eagle News)–President Rodrigo Duterte has given the go-signal for a wage subsidy program for middle class workers affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles made the announcement a day after Finance Undersecretary Karl Chua unveiled details of the program aimed at helping around 1.6 million small businesses and their 3.4 million employees.
Chua had said the small businesses would be identified through the Bureau of Internal Revenue.
Priority would be given to the tax-compliant small businesses.
“Yung 2.6 million na po ito ay nasa BIR Alphalist. Ibig sabihin, ‘yung employers po ay nagko-comply with the BIR submissions. So ‘yan po ang unang tutulungan natin,” Chua had said.
Nograles said the P5,000 to P8,000 will be given to eligible workers under the program in two tranches in May.
He said the amount would be computed according to the minimum daily wage rates in their respective regions.
Earlier, Cavite Governor Jonvic Remulla appealed for the government to help middle-class families, who he said were among the hardest-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said these were the Filipinos who had managed to put up small businesses with their earnings, and who were mostly “law-abiding.”
President Duterte had agreed with Remulla, saying the government would look for ways to help them as well.
