CALOOCAN CITY, April 13 (PIA) -- Cabinet Secretary and Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging Infectious Diseases spokesperson Karlo Nograles has said during a virtual presser that loan payments and the payment of taxes have been put on hold to ease the financial burden on middle-class and low-income Filipinos amid the extended enhance community quarantine (ECQ).

During the IATF briefing multicast by the Presidential Communications Operations Office and its attached agencies, Nograles said the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) has announced that it will grant a three-month moratorium on the payment of loans of its members and pensioners as a result of the ECQ.

"Aside from the financial assistance being extended to our countrymen who need it, we wish to reiterate that the government and private sector have suspended payments and waived fees for payments that fall within the quarantine period," he said.

"The payment of our utilities, rent, Pag-IBIG housing loans and others may be deferred for now until after the end of the ECQ," he added, referring to the 30-day grace period for rent or lease payments.

"You do not need to pay for rent, housing loans and utility bills," he further said, explaining that this is separate from the financial assistance being extended to underprivileged families.

Government, he said, is still looking for ways to not only reduce the COVID-19 transmission, but to ease the financial burden on middle-class and low-income Filipinos.

"Everything now is in a state of suspended animation; that includes the payment of taxes, renewal of licenses, registration of vehicles, renewal of franchises, since these are extended without penalty," Nograles added.

The government is also doubling its efforts to address the increasing number of COVID-19 infections by pushing for the testing of 8,000 to 19,000 people per day, and contructing additional isolation facilities for those with symptoms. (PIA NCR)