Waste Of Public Funds? Lawmakers Differ On Grant Of ‘Ayuda’

House Deputy Minority Leader and Bagong Henerasyon party-list Rep. Bernadette Herrera expressed belief on Wednesday, Aug. 31, that the government’s cash assistance must be channeled to more productive and sustainable programs and not given as mere dole outs.

In an interview with “BusinessWorld Live” on One News, Herrera said the cash aid program of the government must focus on establishing employment and small businesses for Filipinos.

“When you say kasi ‘ayuda’ that’s just simply dole out there. But what we're trying to do here is to distribute funds that would generate employment [and] would generate entrepreneurship,” Herrera noted.

Citing an effect of the “ayuda” mentality, Herrera pointed out that some people are not working anymore since one of the requirements to receive cash aid from the government is if no one’s working in a household.

Herrera said while people should still receive cash assistance, there should be certain conditions that they have to meet before getting it, and that there should be a goal wherein they have to earn something from it.

On Friday, Aug. 26, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno told the House committee on appropriations that it’s a “waste of public funds” at this point to give cash aid or “ayuda” to Filipinos in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“On the giving of ‘ayuda’ in relation to the (COVID-19) crisis, I think that should already be discontinued because we have actually fully recovered, OK? And because of the limited fiscal space,” Diokno said.

“But the social protection programs, the DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development), I think that should continue. The aid to senior citizens, that should continue,” he clarified, referring to “ayuda” that is not linked to the pandemic.

Herrera agreed that the “ayuda” mentality “is something that has to change.”

“It (assistance) has to be something that’s sustainable and something that grows at something that the individual can earn from,” she emphasized.

P10,000 cash assistance needed

Reacting to Diokno’s pronouncements, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano asked the government to reconsider “ayuda” distribution, saying survival is at stake for millions of Filipinos.

Cayetano said on Tuesday, Aug. 30, that he is willing to “sit down and work with the government” to work out the distribution of direct aid to the people.

“Marami na pong hindi kumakain ng tatlong beses sa isang araw, marami pong hindi na napapagamot ang may sakit (There are many people who no longer eat three times a day and can’t seek treatment when ill),” Cayetano told reporters at the Senate.

He also said the distribution of direct cash aid, as he is pushing in his proposed Sampung Libong Pag-asa Law, is not a dole out especially since it addresses hardships brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and the rising prices of goods and services due to high costs of fuel.

“Hindi po dole out ang ayuda sa panahon ng pandemic. Dahil ‘yung pandemic ay nasamahan pa ng sobrang taas ng presyo so ang issue ay survival," he said.

Cayetano consistently lobbied for his “ayuda” bill when he was Taguig representative, but it failed to be included in the Bayanihan 3 COVID-19 aid package.

Cayetano said the cash aid during the pandemic was a big help to a lot of Filipinos during the pandemic.

He argued that if direct aid is so bad, “then how come the US and other countries have been doing this as a form of social protection?”

“I think it will be a lively discussion sa budget hearing. I am willing to sit down and work with the government kung ang ibibigay ay trabaho, livelihood o negosyo (if what will be provided are jobs, livelihood or businesses),” he said.

Cayetano said he believes the people are not asking for anything for free and that all they want is a chance to recover from the hardships they are currently facing.

“Ang tao naman ay hindi humihingi ng libre. I hope that the (administration) will be open na marinig ng diretso sa ating mga kababayan kung gaano kabigat ang buhay ngayon at bakit kailangan ‘yung ayuda,” he stressed.