DUMAGUETE CITY, July 14 (PIA) –- The Dumaguete City government has allocated P40.9-M for medical equipment and supplies as part of health safety in responding to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

The said amount is sourced from the Bayanihan Grant to Cities and Municipalities (BGCM) under the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act from the national government.

The local government units are required to spend the grant during the COVID-19 pandemic in which Dumaguete City is implementing its project and activities based on funding allocation in June.

Pursuant to the priorities of Mayor Felipe Antonio Remollo, chair of the City’s Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases, the following programs, projects, and activities funded the procurement of personal protective equipment, reagents, medicine and vitamins, and disinfectants.

The grant also funds the food, transportation (including fuel) and accommodation expenses of medical personnel and other local government unit personnel directly involved in the implementation of COVID-19 related activities and expenses for 3,500 health workers and other frontliners in the city.

The Bayanihan grant is also utilized for the food assistance and other relief goods for affected households of the pandemic.

This includes rice at 25 kilos distributed to affected households who were not included in the list of DSWD’s Social Amelioration Program and Unconditional Cash Transfer.

All these expenditures are geared towards ensuring that health workers and other frontliners are provided protection as they perform their vital functions of preventing the spread and eliminating the threat of COVID-19 in the community; continuous disinfection of various public and private facilities or establishments; and food assistance to affected households during this state of public health emergency.

Under the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act (Republic Act 11469), signed by Pres. Rodrigo Duterte on March 23, the national government is granted authority to allocate funds to be used in accordance to the regulations and directives issued by the national government while implementing the standards of the community quarantine to their respective locales.

The Bayanihan Grant aims to financially capacitate cities and municipalities in responding to COVID-19.

Meanwhile, the Bayanihan Act states that the unutilized amount alloted in response to COVID-19 after the lifting of the state of calamity in the entire country grant shall be returned to the National Treasury. (jct/PIA7 Negros Oriental)