TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo today morning, May 13, directly inspected the distribution of direct cash assistance or BLT to beneficiary families at the Juanda Post Office, Bogor, West Java.

Donning a white shirt and wearing a face mask, the president arrived at the location at around 8:30 a.m. and accompanied by Bogor Mayor Bima Arya.

“This morning, I want to ensure the cash assistance for the people,” said Jokowi at the site today. He observed that the distribution went well and all people neatly queued and wore face masks.

The aid was part of the government’s social assistance for communities affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. The funds amounted to Rp600,000 for each family for three months. The government targeted to provide it to nine million families.

Social Minister Juliari Batubara previously said the government had only held data for 7.8 million families eligible for the BLT program. “There are regions that have not yet submitted their data at some 1.2 million families. We are still waiting for the region’s reports,” Juliari said in an online press conference on Friday, May 8, 2020.

For the first phase, the social assistance had been channeled through Himbara accounts amounting to Rp471.2 billion with 785,000 beneficiaries. State-run postal company PT Pos Indonesia had also dispensed the aid to 1.8 million families.

DEWI NURITA