EVEN though it didn’t say how and when, the government announced it will extend subsidies to people who will be affected by the imposition of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) from Aug. 6 to 20 in the National Capital Region (NCR).

Most importantly, the Department of Finance (DOF) said it has sufficient funds to do so.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said the funds will come from dividends remitted by government-owned and controlled corporations.

The amount required is about P12 billion. Dominguez said the government has sufficient excess revenues to cover the amount.

Individuals who are qualified to receive subsidy will be given P1,000 each, or a maximum of P4,000 for four persons in a family, according to Malacanang.

As such, the Department of Finance (DOF) said there is no need for any realignment of budget at this point.

Last year, funding for some projects of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and Department of Public Works and Highways (DOWH) were realigned to help fund the government’s pandemic-related programs.

The government will implement a two-week ECQ in Metro Manila starting today as a preventive move to address further rise of COVID-19 infections, especially those caused by the Delta variant.

The imposition of the most restrictive quarantine classification is currently being implemented in Iloilo City, Iloilo province, Cagayan de Oro City, and Misamis Oriental’s capital, Gingoog City, until Aug. 7.

Iloilo province, its capital city, and Gingoog City have been placed under ECQ from mid to end of July.

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Health insurance coverage has become very important for many Filipinos amid the pandemic.

It can help COVID-19 patients a lot when they get hospitalized and billed for hundreds of thousands of pesos.

I’m already covered by Philhealth which is truly ‘heaven sent’ for its members. But I’m also preparing to engage a private insurance company for more protection.

We still need added protection as more contagious and deadly variants of COVID-19 are coming up. And we don’t know when they will hit us.

So it’s really good to be prepared.

At any rate, Insurance claims related to COVID-19 have reached about P375 million so far for AIA-Philam Life.

AIA Philam Life chief marketing officer Leo Tan said the amount was released from March 2020 until July of this year and includes those released by its bank assurance partnership with Ayala-led Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), BPI-Philam, and with that of Citi.

These are both hospitalization and death claims, but more on hospitalization.

To further help more clients, Tan said they have included starting this year an accommodation feature in their medical plan intended for those who are experiencing side effects from COVID-19 vaccines.

“This is also our way of helping the government in achieving herd immunity because that’s quite important with all the vaccination programs that are rolling out in the respective LGUs,” he said.

Tan said they intend to be part of the government’s bid to protect Filipinos’ lives, thus the launch of a health coverage product earlier this year that has comprehensive critical illness cover, including COVID-19.

He said the product aims to increase coverage for their clients, especially since new COVID-19 variants are coming out.

“We are part of those who are helping the government fight this pandemic and also achieve herd immunity,” he added.

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