‘THAT’S all that we can afford.”
Communications Secretary and acting presidential spokesman Martin Andanar said this yesterday as he justified the P200 a month unconditional cash transfer assistance that the government is giving to poor households to help cushion the impact of the fuel crisis.
In an interview with radio DZBB, Andanar acknowledged criticisms that the amount is not enough, which some sectors have described as “alms.”
“It is what we can afford as of today. So, obviously, kung ano po iyong kaya lang ng kaban ng bayan ay iyon lang ang maibibigay natin, kasi kung sosobra naman tayo doon ay mangungutang na naman tayo (It is what we can afford as of today. So, obviously, we can only give what is available in the national coffers. If we go beyond that, we will be forced to borrow again),” he said.
He added that funds for the P200 aid are already available.
Andanar said the Department of Finance is now finalizing the guidelines for the distribution of the financial assistance.
Social Welfare spokeswoman Irene Duimlao said that as of February 28, 2022, there are at least 4.2 million poor households currently enrolled under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), the government’s conditional cash transfer program that cover’s the country’s poorest of the poor.
Dumlao said depending on the number of enrolled students in the family and their grade level, each family receives between P1,650 per month to P3,450 a month.
The conditional cash transfer has a limit of up to three children enrolled per family. An elementary student is allotted P300 subsidy a month, P500 for junior high school and P750 for senior high school high school on top of the P600 rice subsidy and P750 health grant provided monthly per household.
Dumlao said once details are final, the P200 unconditional cash transfer would be given on top of the 4PS conditional aid.
She said this will not be the first time that an unconditional cash transfer will be provided to poor households, recalling that in 2018, a P200 cash subsidy had also been provided by the government which was raised to P300 in 2019 to 2020.
She assured that there will be no “palakasan” or influence peddling on the provision of cash aid, as the DSWD already has a list of 4Ps and poor household beneficiaries which would be used in identifying who should get the P200.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson said he is willing to discuss with Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III his proposal to temporarily suspend excise taxes on fuel to give Filipinos breathing space amid the fuel price hikes.
Lacson said the DOF’s proposal of an additional P200 relief a month or P2,400 a year through unconditional cash transfers to the bottom half of Filipino households may not be enough for families to cope with the effects of the increasing oil prices.
He said suspending the collection of excise tax when fuel prices reach a certain threshold and reimposing it when prices go below that threshold is more practical.
Lacson pointed out that while suspending excise taxes could mean at least P131 billion in foregone revenues, the conflict in Ukraine — a major cause of the fuel price spikes — will hopefully not last long.
Asked about the plight of the middle-income earners, Andanar said the priority at the moment is the poor sector but other measures that would benefit the middle-income sector are “under consideration such as the four-day work week to limit expenses for transport or gasoline.
Andanar said President Duterte is expected to come up with a decision on the four-day work week by Monday.
Other measures proposed by the government includes the provision of a subsidy for minimum wage earners and the extended work from home arrangements.
4-DAY WORK WEEK
Lacson said workers should be properly compensated if the proposed four-day work week is implemented.
Lacson, who is running for president under the Partido Reporma, said the idea of having four days of work every week is good as it will help workers save on fuel and transportation and other related expenses, and give them more time to spend with their families.
“As long as daily wage earners will be compensated for their extended hours of work which should be equivalent to five days, I will support that four-day workweek so we can save on fuel. The four-day work week proposal is good. Employees can save on fuel if they don’t have work on Friday to Sunday. They may spend more hours from Monday to Thursday at work, but they will have more time for their families,” Lacson said.
In Iloilo City, Mayor Jerry Treñas said the city government will implement a four-day work week later this month to mitigate the effects of the recent oil price hikes.
“In order to help our employees cope with the present increases of fuel (price), the city will start adopting the four-day work week as suggested by NEDA chief Karl Chua starting the week after next,” said Treñas.
“This (announcement) will give our employees time to adjust their schedules both in work and in their homes,” added Treñas.
Treñas said the city government will also be dispatching its jeepneys to transport city hall employees.
“We are also going to make use of our modern jeeps to ferry our employees from the district plazas to the city hall and back every day,” he said, adding that other measures are being “seriously considered” by the city government to conserve energy.
Meanwhile, the labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) yesterday pushed for the provision of overtime pay in the event that the proposed four-day work week is implemented.
In a statement, PM chairman Rene Magtubo said there is a need for employers to give overtime pay as workers may be helpful in economic recovery efforts.
“The 4-day work week or compressed work week (CWW) without overtime pay is abuse of workers. CWW would be acceptable to workers if overtime pay is provided,” said Magtubo, adding: “More money in the hands of workers means more money to be spent for goods and services and, thus, would be good for economic recovery.”
For its part, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) echoed the reminder of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) that a CWW must be a result of a consensus.
Add to this, TUCP said, is the presence of written agreements between employers and employees that is submitted to DOLE to ensure monitoring and no management abuse.
“The proposed 4-day compressed work week will require the consent of workers because it means setting aside the 8-hour work-day. Only workers can waive that right to an 8-hour work day,” said the labor group, stressing that “workers must be consulted, and workers will have to voluntarily agree to the proposal.”
WAGE SUBSIDY
In a related development, the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) scored the government’s proposed monthly subsidy of P200 to workers, saying that the amount is unacceptable as it pales in comparison to the spike in prices.
“Crumbs is the answer of (President) Duterte to the hardships faced by the people brought by the successive increase in fuel prices,” said KMU chairman Elmer Labog.
“It is too small and insufficient given the expenses of the people. This is how small Duterte looks at people,” Labog also said.
The DOLE has proposed the provision of a wage subsidy allocation worth P24 billion that will benefit one million workers. Labor Assistant Secretary Dominique Tutay has said that the three-month subsidy for minimum wage earners will amount to nearly P200 per month.
Magtubo said the proposed wage subsidy should not be a substitute to the sought pay increase by workers, saying that workers are still waiting for the approval of the P100 legislated wage hike.
“Wages have lost their value due to runaway inflation for the past three years! The P100 wage recovery must be across-the-board since all workers have been affected by high food and fuel prices,” said Magtubo.
“It must be legislated by Congress when it convenes for a special session to tackle the economic crisis,” he added. — With Gerard Naval, Raymond Africa and Victor Reyes
