Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Manila Mayor Isko Moreno is offering a PHP100,000 (US$2,062) reward to any village in his city that can register zero COVID-19 cases for the next two months.
“In the next two months, starting September 1 and ending on October 31, if you don’t register any infection, there’s no new case in your village, the village will receive a PHP100,000 incentive,” the former actor said in Filipino and English during a Facebook live broadcast.
“Our goal is zero COVID-19 infection for two months in our villages, and I believe that you can do it. That is why we want to give you [an] incentive,” Moreno added.
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Of course, there’s the risk that some village captains will discourage residents from taking coronavirus tests (or fudge the numbers), but that didn’t seem to have crossed the mayor’s mind. He said that the Manila Health Department will “scrutinize” if a village has recorded a COVID-19 infection (or not), but did not explain how fraud in data-gathering could be avoided.
Moreno said he has already told Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna-Pangan to appropriate PHP89.6 million (US$1.848 million) for what is essentially a competition. In addition, Manila City Hall will give a certificate of recognition to the officials of the victorious villages.
As of yesterday, Manila has recorded 874 active cases, 325 deaths, and 6,911 recoveries.
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