Hundreds of Quezon City residents yesterday flocked to the city hall as they apparently learned that the city government will be giving financial assistance or “ayuda.”

In its statement, the city government clarified that there is no cash out or payout that is being given, but the Small Business and Cooperatives Development and Promotions Office (SBCDPO) is accepting application forms which will still undergo review and an evaluation process to identify qualified applicants.

“On behalf of SBCDPO, we sincerely apologize for this incident. We are managing the situation now to ensure that only applicants are in line and that basic health protocols are being implemented,” the statement read.

The city government explained that yesterday was the second to the last day of the filing of application for its program Pangkabuhayang QC, causing the influx of people at the city hall since many residents want to apply for the program.

The Pangkabuhayang QC program aims to provide livelihood training and financial assistance for QCitizens who have lost their jobs during this pandemic.

“We understand that many QCitizens have been affected by the pandemic, hence this Pangkabuhayang QC is a hope for many unemployed individuals,” the city government added in its statement.

In view of this, people have gathered at the city hall without application forms, hoping to receive outright financial assistance.

“However, we reiterate that the program requires a verification process where application forms must be submitted in order to check if the person’s current/planned business is legitimate or if there are duplicate applications from the same household,” as further explained in the statement.

The city government also assured that it will be implementing additional measures to ensure that this won’t happen again on the last day of filing for application.

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Cory Martinez