Most of the members of the Cabinet have volunteered to take 75 percent off their monthly salary to help the government’s response against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the Inter-agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases announced.
In a virtual presser Saturday, Cabinet Secretary and IATF spokesman Karlo Nograles said some top officials in the Executive Branch volunteered the pay cut until December this year or until the Bayanihan To Heal As One Act is effective.
“Karamihan na mga miyembro ng gabinete ni pangulong Duterte ay boluntaryong ibibigay ang 75 percent ng kanilang buwanang sahod upang ilaan sa mga programa ng gobyerno upang sugpuin ang COVID-19,” he said.
Nograles said he was one of the Cabinet men who volunteered to donate 75 percent of their salary to the government’s COVID-19 mitigation efforts.
He, however, refused to name his colleagues and instead let them announce the deed if they wanted to.
President Duterte has placed the entire Luzon under an enhanced community quarantine until April 12. The lockdown restricted the movement of people except those rendering vital services to control the spread of the deadly disease.
On March 24, President Duterte signed the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act which declares the existence of a national emergency and granting him additional powers to address the COVID-19 crisis.
The measure also allowed the President to “reallocate, realign, and reprogram” a budget of almost P275 billion from the 2020 national budget.
In his late-night public address Friday, Duterte, while assuring that the fund will not go to the pockets of politicians, however, said the amount would not last beyond six months and hoped for a vaccine to be developed soon or the Philippines is doomed.
“Sabi ko may pera tayo. Hindi ba? O ngayon dumating, kailangan natin ng bilyon. Pero hindi ito tatagal. Dadating ito ng six months, patay na tayo,” he said.
“If they cannot come up with a vaccine, patay tayong lahat. Hindi tayo makalabas, hindi na tayo makatrabaho. Maglabas ka, patay ka,” he added. (Argyll Cyrus B. Geducos)
