Govt agencies told: Explain ‘ayuda’ programs with House

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SEN. Imee Marcos yesterday told concerned government agencies to explain the mechanics of their financial assistance programs being conducted jointly with the House of Representatives that she said were not tackled during the Senate deliberations on the 2024 national budget.

Marcos was quick to say that she is not starting a new “fight” with members of the lower house but only wants specifics on the programs since these were not known during the budget discussions last year.

She added that on her inquiry, Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara, chairperson of the Committee on Finance, said that “it’s a House insertion,” referring to the programs.

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She also said the Senate minority bloc likewise have questions related to the implementation of, specifically, the Cash and Rice Distribution (CARD) Program, the P500 a month grocery discount for senior citizens and persons with disabilities, and the House’s Strategic Mentoring and Research Training (SMART) internship program.

On the P500 a month grocery discount program, Marcos said the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) should explain where the funds for the grocery discount subsidy will be sourced from.

“DTI project ba ito o joint initiative (Is this a DTI project or a joint initiative?”) Marcos said at the Kapihan sa Senado media forum.

On the other hand, the CARD program, which was launched in November last year, is a monthly rice voucher joint program of the House of Representatives and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) aimed at bringing down the price of good quality rice by almost half for seven million families or 28 million poor Filipinos.

The CARD program was initially launched in Metro Manila’s 33 legislative districts, with each district allowed to enlist 10,000 poor and vulnerable beneficiaries for a total of 330,000 recipients.

Speaker Martin Romualdez has said that the CARD program will be operationalized through the DSWD’s Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) which will cover the necessary budget allocations for the rice discount vouchers.

Marcos said she knows nothing about the SMART internship program, which is described in the House website as the House’s active approach to talent recruitment through partnership with academic institutions.

Marcos said she is concerned that the participation of the House in the financial assistance programs could be a violation of the Supreme Court decision which declared the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) system as illegal.

“Ang kinatatakutan ko ay baka swak ito sa prohibition ng PDAF na huwag makikialam sa post enactment ng iba’t ibang project. Bawal iyon. Ang papel naming ay ang mag-saayos ng budget at ang executive ang mag-i-implement. Hands off kami diyan, puwera na lang kung may problema, then we will exercise our oversight functions (What I am worried about is that these may be in violation of the prohibition on the PDAF, which states that lawmakers should not be involved in post enactment of different projects. That’s prohibited.

Our role as lawmakers is limited to approving the budget and the executive will implement it. We should not dip our hands into that unless there is problem, then we exercise our oversight function),” she said.

“Hindi ko maintindihan ‘yan kasi wala tayo niyan. Wala rin ‘yan sa budget kaya siguro kailangang ipaliwanag sa atin. Malaki-laki rin ‘yung sa rice distribution. Saan galing ‘yan?

Sabi ng DSWD, sakop pa rin ng AICS, pero sabi joint project. So, I don’t understand (I cannot understand these projects because we do not have them in the Senate. They are also not included in the budget [deliberations], that’s why they should be explained to us.

There is a big budget for the rice distribution. Where did it come from? The DSWD said it is under the AICS, but it also said that it is a joint project. So, I really don’t understand),” she added.

AYUDA SCAM

Meanwhile, Sen. Joseph Victor Ejercito urged the DSWD and the Department of Labor and Employment to come up with clear guidelines on the distribution of their financial aid to indigents amid reports that some local government units have been taking “cuts” from the cash grants being given to beneficiaries.

“I am appealing to DSWD and DOLE to further study the distribution. Let’s be realistic na kapag cash ‘yan ay prone to temptation (Let’s be realistic that distributing cash is prone to temptation),” Ejercito said at the Kapihan sa Senado.

Ejercito, in a privilege speech earlier this week, said there were reports in San Juan City that only P1,000 of the P7,500 cash assistance under the DOLE’s Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program were given the beneficiaries.

He said this may also be happening elsewhere.

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“My intent is clear, and it is not for San Juan per se. It’s really for the agencies to ensure that there are enough safeguards and mechanisms to make sure itong mga funds ay mapupunta sa rightful beneficiaries. Kung nangyayari ito sa San Juan, all the more na nangyayari ito sa mga probinsiya (My intent is clear, and it is not only San Juan per se. It’s really for the agencies to ensure that there are enough safeguards and mechanisms to make sure that these funds go to the rightful beneficiaries. If this is happening in San Juan, all the more that this may also be happening in other places),” he said.

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