EDITORIAL - Aid for middle class workers

Bowing to calls from various quarters, the government has approved a P51-billion package to assist the middle class during the coronavirus disease 2019 crisis. Over 40 million Filipinos are classified as middle income. Many work for or operate an estimated 1.6 million small businesses in the formal sector. Most of these businesses have been forced to shut down as part of measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

The P51 billion will be mainly a wage subsidy for middle class workers, the Department of Finance has explained. It was approved after Congress and the executive approved a P205-billion COVID aid package for low-income households. The state think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies categorizes middle income workers as those whose monthly earning is between P19,040 to P114,240 at 2017 prices.

With the approval of the middle class package, the next step is the distribution of the aid. The government is currently confronting complaints over the inefficiency of the identification of beneficiaries and distribution of the P205-billion aid to the low-income households. Local government units are complaining that they need more allocations, while people are complaining about being left out.

The aid for middle class workers should not face similar problems. Identification of beneficiaries should be facilitated by official documents from government agencies such as the Bureau of Internal Revenue, Department of Trade and Industry and local government units.

While drawing up the mechanics for implementing the aid for the middle class, the government should also take a closer look at the distribution of the aid for low-income households. There have been reports of barangay officials giving preference to relatives and friends in the distribution of the cash aid ranging from P5,000 to P8,000 per household.

The public should be provided with accessible mechanisms for ventilating valid complaints. Any abuse of authority in the distribution of aid should be swiftly penalized. People are suffering enough in this crisis, and assistance must be rolled out with speed, efficiency and honesty.