MikeLigalig.com

AS MORE FILIPINO FAMILIES SUFFER FROM HUNGER, CIVIL SOCIETY GROUPS ASK, “WHY ARE SOME POLITICIANS OPPOSED TO THE PRO-POOR PROGRAMS IN THE PRESIDENT'S BUDGET? 
(Source: Department of Budget and Management Website)

This is the reaction of several civil society organizations to the opposition of several legislators against the budget allocation for the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) which is an important pillar of the Aquino administration’s anti-poverty program and is expected to provide immediate relief to 2.3 million families among the poorest of the poor.


The President’s budget for 2011 allocates P29.2 billion for the 4Ps program, which grants a monthly stipend of up to P1,400 to each of 2.3 million identified poor families – provided they abide by conditions such as sending their children to school and bringing them to health clinics for vaccinations. This doubles the number of CCT beneficiaries from only 1 million this year. “This is still just half of the 4.6 million poor families identified by the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR), but this is certainly a big step in the right direction” Caucus of Development NGO Networks (CODE-NGO) Chairperson Ana Marie Karaos said. She adds, “The program seeks to support the attainment of the first of the 8 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which is the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, the target being to halve, between 1990 and 2015, the number of poor people”.

However, 4.0 million Filipino families suffer from hunger as estimated by SWS in its June 2010 survey. Compared to the previous year’s survey, 300,000 more families are suffering from hunger. Furthermore, the proportion of poor Filipinos rose from 30% in 2003 to 33% to 2006, and is widely expected to have further increased due to the rice and oil price hikes and the global financial crisis in 2008 and the strong typhoons that hit the country in 2008 and 2009. Karaos states, “Thus, we welcome and strongly support the proposed budget for 2011 of the Aquino Administration, particularly the substantial funds earmarked for programs that directly address the important and immediate needs of poor Filipinos”.

Several legislators in both the House and the Senate have questioned the increase in budget allocation for the 4Ps program. “This is the start of establishing a dole-out society,” said Senator Edgardo Angara during a radio interview. He adds “This is not sustainable as we are a developing country.” House Minority Leader Edcel Lagman has also warned that the substantial increase in the program could be used for partisan endeavors.

On the other hand, civil society organizations have expressed their support for the expansion of the government’s 4Ps program. In a statement released to the media, they expressed that they “welcome and strongly support the proposed budget for 2011 of the Aquino Administration, particularly the substantial funds earmarked for programs that directly address the important and immediate needs of poor Filipinos”. They further add, “We would like to emphasize that as the immediate needs of our poor and hungry fellows are being addressed, it is vital to also ensure that they are given the opportunities for decent jobs and livelihoods and access to basic and productive assets”.

They also express their support for the increased budgetary allocations for the government’s asset reform programs. “We are heartened that the proposed budget for 2011 increases the funds for the Community Mortgage Program (CMP) from P170 million this year to P500 million, which will benefit 20,000 urban poor households. The budget for the National Housing Authority (NHA) will also be increased from P3.6 billion to P4.4 billion for the resettlement of poor families including those displaced by typhoon Ondoy”, said Benedict Balderrama, National Coordinator of the Partnership of Philippine Support Service Agencies (PHILSSA), a national network of NGOs working on housing and urban development. “We also welcome the P10.2 billion proposed for acquisition and distribution of agricultural lands by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), contributing to the purchase of 300,000 hectares of lands or 20% of the lands yet to be distributed under the agrarian reform program”, added Socrates Banzuela, National Coordinator of the Pambansang Kilusan ng mga Samahang Magsasaka (PAKISAMA).


Karaos further explained that the 4Ps program will be sustainable if it is linked to other anti-poverty programs of government such as job generation and asset reform. In addition, the identification of beneficiaries through the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) provides a safeguard against the politicization of this process as it removes discretion. “It has a much better targeting system for the poor, compared to other subsidy programs of government such as the NFA Rice subsidies and the fertilizer subsidy program”.

“We are surprised that some of our political leaders are questioning the substantial funds being proposed for these programs directed at helping poor Filipinos survive and climb out of poverty. We ask them to instead support the proposed budget and move our country on the straight path to poverty reduction and people empowerment”, she added.

 
 


Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=32835.0