Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Batasan Hills, Quezon City 
EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS 
Second Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. _________ 
Introduced by 
REP. ARLENE D. BROSAS (Gabriela Women’s Party);  
REP. CARLOS ISAGANI T. ZARATE, REP. FERDINAND R. GAITE, and REP. EUFEMIA C. 
CULLAMAT (Bayan Muna Partylist); REP. FRANCE L. CASTRO (ACT Teachers’ Partylist); 
and REP. SARAH JANE I. ELAGO (Kabataan Partylist) 
AN ACT PROVIDING FOR A TEN THOUSAND PESOS (P10,000) EMERGENCY CASH AID FOR FAMILIES 
AFFECTED BY THE SEVERE ECONOMIC DOWNTURN AND SERIES OF CALAMITIES  
AMID THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
In the midst of the militarist restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Philippine economy has crashed 
into its lowest point since 1946, suffering its first recession in 29 years. Millions of Filipinos were thrown into 
joblessness and more than a trillion pesos were slashed from the incomes of Filipino families as a result of the 
lockdown and other restrictions. Philippine Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2020 plunged by 9.5 percent – 
the biggest economic decline since World War II, and unemployment rate reached its highest since 2005 at an 
average of 10.5 percent for the same period. It is estimated that the pandemic has pushed around 2.7 million 
Filipinos to poverty despite the rollout of social amelioration programs (SAPs) towards the middle of the year. 
Cash subsidies granted to poor families and displaced workers proved to be largely insufficient, aside from the 
fact that interventions were scandalously delayed and marred with irregularities.  
The economic fallout caused by the pandemic and restrictions has disproportionately affected Filipino women – 
with majority of female workers concentrated in low-paying, low-quality, and non-regular jobs. Official data 
indicate that women’s labor force participation rate has dropped a lot more than their male counterparts. With 
the closure of businesses and disruptions in the informal economy, millions of Filipino women lost their jobs 
and their sources of income while bearing increased domestic pressures due to the stay-at-home policy.  
According to a jobs report by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), a total of 26,060 micro, small, 
medium and large businesses closed permanently or retrenched some of their workers, while more than 4.5 
million workers in 161,251 establishments were trapped in a “no work, no pay” situation due to the prolonged 
temporary business closure or reduced workhours. A comprehensive July 2020 survey conducted by the World 
Bank, the Department of Finance and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) also 
confirmed that around 65 percent of Philippine-based companies either permanently shut down or temporarily 
closed, pointing to mass layoffs and loss of incomes.   
The severe economic shocks inflicted by the haphazard restrictions and wrong priorities in the COVID-19 
response were compounded by the devastation wrought by typhoons during the last quarter of the year on 
millions of poor and vulnerable families across the country. The back-to-back typhoons “Rolly” and “Ulysses” 
displaced over 1 million Filipinos and affected more than one-third of the country’s population. The torrential 
rains, strong winds and massive flooding inflicted heavy damage to agriculture, and thus pushed the prices of 
agricultural commodities up.  
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Rising food prices and transport costs have resulted in higher inflation rates even as poor families continue to 
reel from the massive destruction of livelihood and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Inflation spiked to a 
two-year-high of 4.7 percent in February 2021, as prices of pork and other food commodities surged. For the 
bottom 30 percent of Filipino households, inflation shot up to 5.5 percent during the same period.  
The country is in a strikingly bleak and unparalleled economic downturn, with figures on unemployment and 
inflation expected to worsen in the coming months. Despite these, the Duterte administration has repeatedly 
rejected calls for fresh cash assistance programs. Such stance carries the imminent risk of further plunging 
millions of Filipinos into poverty and economic misery – even as the Inter Agency Task Force (IATF) for the 
Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases has imposed stricter restrictions for Metro Manila and four 
nearby provinces. It must be acknowledged that the 2021 General Appropriations Act is utterly devoid of any 
massive social protection or social amelioration program that would revitalize consumption and stave off more 
job losses. Without a sufficient cash subsidy program to poor families to cushion the impacts of the worst 
economic recession, the quality of life of more ordinary Filipinos are bound for eventual collapse.  
In view of the foregoing, the immediate passage of this bill is earnestly sought. 
ARLENE D. BROSAS 
Gabriela Women’s Party 
CARLOS ISAGANI T. ZARATE  
FERDINAND R. GAITE  
Bayan Muna Partylist      
 Bayan Muna Partylist 
EUFEMIA C. CULLAMAT   
FRANCE L. CASTRO    
Bayan Muna Partylist  
Act Teachers Partylist   
SARAH JANE I. ELAGO 
Kabataan Partylist 


Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Batasan Hills, Quezon City 
EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS 
Second Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. _________ 
Introduced by 
REP. ARLENE D. BROSAS (Gabriela Women’s Party);  
REP. CARLOS ISAGANI T. ZARATE, REP. FERDINAND R. GAITE, and REP. EUFEMIA C. 
CULLAMAT (Bayan Muna Partylist); REP. FRANCE L. CASTRO (ACT Teachers’ Partylist); 
and REP. SARAH JANE I. ELAGO (Kabataan Partylist) 
AN ACT PROVIDING FOR A TEN THOUSAND PESOS (P10,000) EMERGENCY CASH AID FOR FAMILIES 
AFFECTED BY THE SEVERE ECONOMIC DOWNTURN AND SERIES OF CALAMITIES AMID THE  
COVID-19 PANDEMIC 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Republic of the Philippines in Congress 
assembled: 
SECTION 1. Short title. This Act shall be known as the “P10K Emergency Cash Aid or EC Aid” Act of 2021. 
SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. It is hereby declared the policy of the State to free the people from poverty 
through policies that provide adequate social services, a rising standard of living, and an improved quality of 
life for all. The State must ensure that Filipino families will not further fall into the poverty trap and that 
dwindling family incomes will be augmented amid the severe economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. 
Towards this end, the State shall provide an immediate, quick-release cash assistance to poor families as the 
effects of the pandemic are seen to persist until 2023.  
SECTION 3. Definition of Terms. 
a) Family – a group of persons usually living together and composed of the head and other persons
related to the head by blood, marriage or adoption. It includes both the nuclear and extended family.
b) Informal sector worker – a worker whose employment is not subject to standard labor legislation,
taxation, social protection or entitlement to certain employment benefits including, but not limited to
independent contractors, street vendors, public utility vehicle drivers, operators, freelancers,
agricultural and fisheries workers, and self-employed workers in the gig economy; the job is casual or
of a limited short duration; the hours of work or wage are below a certain threshold; the worker is not
covered either by SSS or GSIS; or the employer is an unregistered enterprise
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c) Poor- to low-income earner – individuals who are receiving monthly compensation as follows: 
  
Income Classification 
Monthly Income 
Low Income 
Between 
Php 
23,660.00 
to 
Php 
60,000.00 
Poor 
Less than Php 23,660.00 
 
SECTION 4. Emergency Cash Aid Program – An Emergency Cash Aid Program shall be implemented to 
cover 18 million poor and low-income families affected by economic disruptions due to the COVID-19 
pandemic and those who are affected by the series of calamities during the last quarter of 2020. Provided, that 
a fixed monthly cash assistance of Ten Thousand Pesos (PhP10,000.00) shall be provided to each of the 
beneficiary-family for a period of two (2) consecutive months. Provided further, that cash transfers from 
Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) and Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS), and other 
social amelioration programs shall be deducted from the monthly emergency cash aid. Provided furthermore, 
that the availment of the Emergency Cash Aid Program should not affect the eligibility of a family to other 
social protection and livelihood support programs. Provided finally, that a definite and actual list of 18 million 
beneficiaries of the emergency cash subsidy program shall be finalized and submitted by the Department of 
Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), in coordination with the 
Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and local government units, to Congress two (2) weeks after 
the effectivity of this Act  
 
SECTION 5. Eligibility. To be eligible under this Act, a family must be classified as poor and low-income, and 
must include as member any of the following: 
 
a) Beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) 
b) Beneficiaries of the Unconditional Cash Transfer (UCT) program 
c) Farmers and fisherfolk who are not beneficiaries of 4Ps or UCT but earned less due to the pandemic 
d) Workers who are permanently displaced from his or her job or source of income  
e) Workers who are placed under floating status or who is under a no-work, no-pay scheme  
f) Solo parents who lost their sources of income during the COVID-19 pandemic 
g) Workers who are placed under a recomputed remuneration arrangement or lower monthly incomes 
due to the pandemic  
h) Informal sector workers whose livelihood is affected by the pandemic restrictions, such as but not 
limited to public utility vehicle (drivers), freelancers and workers in the creative industry  
i) Victims of natural calamities, such as typhoons, during the last quarter of 2020 as identified by local 
government units and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) 
j) Senior citizens and persons with disability 
 
The level of quarantine classification or restrictions imposed in a locality shall have no bearing in the eligibility 
of families.  
 
SECTION 6. Form and manner of payment. The emergency cash aid shall be released in two tranches of 
Ten Thousand Pesos per tranche to target beneficiaries either in cash or via electronic payment, whichever is 
more practical and acceptable to the beneficiary, in the most expeditious manner within the two months 
covered by the program.  


 
SECTION 7. Waiver of fees. Any transaction or service fee arising from the electronic payment of emergency 
cash aid to target beneficiaries is hereby automatically waived. For this purpose, the Department of Social 
Welfare and Development shall enter into a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with financial service providers 
 
SECTION 8. Sources of funding. The amount necessary for the effective implementation of this Act shall be 
sourced from unobligated and unreleased funds from the FY 2020 and FY 2021 budget of the Department of 
Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), and from the Contingent Fund of the 2021 General Appropriations 
Act (GAA).  
 
SECTION 9. Separability Clause. If, for any reason, any portion or provision of this Act shall be held 
unconstitutional or invalid, the remaining provisions not affected thereby shall continue to be in full force and 
effect.  
 
SECTION 10. Repealing Clause. Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive order, letter of 
instruction, department order, administrative order, rule or regulation contrary to, or inconsistent with the 
provisions of this Act is hereby repealed, modified or amended accordingly. 
 
SECTION 11. Effectivity. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official Gazette 
or in a newspaper of general circulation.  
 
 
Approved,