The Department of Social Welfare and Development is preparing a livelihood assistance grant for low-income families after relaxing the community quarantine levels in the country, the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases said on Wednesday.

In a virtual press briefing, IATF Spokesperson and Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said the livelihood assistance would be on top of the P200-billion Social Amelioration Program for the poorest 18 million families.

“The DSWD has livelihood assistance grant also. So we save fund for the livelihood assistance grant when the ECQ (enhanced community quarantine) is lifted or when there is a more relaxed ECQ and when the poor marginalized, low-income families could resume their business or work,” he said.

He said micro enterprises are also needed to help jump-start the economy.

Nograles did not give the amount for the livelihood assistance grant.

The DSWD is currently implementing the first tranche of SAP, which provides each beneficiary P5,000 to P8,000 depending on the prevailing wage rate in each region. Celerina Monte/DMS