SEN. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson has filed a bill proposing to harmonize all “ayudas,” or government financial assistance, while penalizing the political exploitation of such programs.
Lacson said his proposed bill, entitled “Expanded Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) Act of 2025,” seeks to create the “Pantawid Pag-asa” program that will consolidate all cash aid programs under the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to avoid overlaps and duplications, which he said “breed potential misuse, fraud, and errors to the disadvantage of the target poor and marginalized beneficiaries.”
The government’s financial assistance programs include the 4Ps, Ayuda sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP), Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS), Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged Workers (TUPAD), and Food STAMP. Among the four, only TUPAD is under the Department of Labor and Employment, while the rest are under the DSWD.
“With the unprecedented expansion of ayuda programs, critics have branded us the monicker ‘ayuda nation.’ Pressing concerns have been raised regarding the potential of various dole-outs to foster independency and, even worse, serve as a political tool that promotes the entrenchment of the culture of mendicancy,” Lacson said.
He said the Pantawid Pag-asa program will serve as a rationalized support program for 4Ps and provide financial assistance to persons and households which experience financial hardships due to crises, loss of income, and other emergencies which limit them from meeting their basic needs.
It will guarantee stricter measures against fraud, duplication, and abuse with the standardized social protection database which contains vetted and comprehensive ayuda programs and all their beneficiaries.
“This is crucial for the unified targeting system and monitoring measures for all social protection programs,” he added.
He said the presence of some politicians during ayuda distribution gives the wrong impression that the money came from them, thus political exploitation and manipulation should not go unpunished.
Under the bill, Lacson said politicians found to be involved in exploitation and manipulation of ayudas will be meted “perpetual absolute” disqualification from holding public office.
“By institutionalizing evidence-based planning and development programs, we will maximize benefits for the poor and eradicate political opportunism in the distribution of social protection programs. Fundamentally, we will minimize wastage of resources by ensuring that only those who are deserving benefit from social protection programs,” he said.
Lacson has also filed a bill institutionalizing the participation of civil society organizations in the budget deliberations to prevent the “mangling” of the national budget, especially when discussions are in the bicameral conference committee level which are held closed doors.
He said the proposed measure seeks to create mechanisms that will ensure that the entire budget process adheres to the principles of good governance and provide guarantee to Filipinos that their taxes are effectively and transparently spent.
“Specifically, this bill aims to institutionalize people’s participation in budget deliberations at various levels of government – national, provincial, municipal, and down to the barangay level. Without underestimating and undermining the capacities of elected representatives in crafting a budget that is needed by a particular locality, this bill gives full play to the people’s right to participate in all levels of social, political, and economic decision-making,” he said.
“In a way, this bill serves as our people’s safeguard against corruption through public oversight on how our taxes are being spent,” he added.
The bill also mandates official recordings and transcriptions for the bicam meetings.
On the other hand, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian filed a measure to regulate online gambling and curb the growing addiction of Filipinos to such vice.
“Due to its accessibility online, gambling activities have magnified the dangers from gambling and have been linked to the erosion of our moral fibers, as it has caused an increase in mental health problems, financial problems, addictive behavior, vices, and crime rates,” Gatchalian said.
He cited recent headlines showing the connection between the 34 missing “sabungeros” and illegal e-sabong operations.
The measure seeks to ban gambling sponsorships of public events and campaign donations, mandates regulators to allocate a portion of collected regulatory fees in the establishment of gambling centers and sets a minimum cash-in requirement of P10,000 to discourage impulsive and easy access to gambling platforms.
Senate President Francis Escudero filed three bills seeking to strengthen the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in recognition of their significant contribution to the country’s economy.
Escudero filed his 10 priority bills as the 20th Congress officially opened last Monday.
He said the pro-MSME bills recognize the significant contributions of small businesses to the national economy since they comprise 67 percent of the total employment across the country.
Under his proposed measures, Escudero said the government will give exemptions to MSMEs from income tax for three years and deduct from their taxable income an amount equivalent to 25 percent of their labor expenses.
He is also proposing to slash the optional tax on gross sales or receipts to 5 percent from the current rate of 8 percent.
The bills likewise calls for the reinstitution of the mandatory credit allocation for MSMEs by all lending institutions for a period of 10 years to provide small businesses with better access to financing.
Escudero said he will also push for the streamlining of the rates under the creditable withholding tax system to two – 1 percent for the purchase of goods and properties, and 2 percent for the purchase of services.
“This will allow our MSMEs, particularly those that are struggling financially, to continue their operations, hire more people, and even consider and expansion in the future,” he said.
At the House of Representatives, Makabayan lawmakers have filed a bill seeking a P50,000 entry level salary for public school teachers, saying educators still struggle despite the salary adjustments in previous years.
Party-list Reps. Antonio Tinio (Alliance of Concerned Teachers) party-list and Renee Co (Kabataan) filed House Bill No. 203 last Monday.
“The Salary Standardization Law was amended in 2020 and 2024 but the struggle of public school teachers for salaries that can afford decent lives for their families is far from over,” the bill said, noting that the previous salary adjustments “by no means addressed the disparity between the salaries of those in the low and middle level salary grades who comprise majority of the civil serv ice and those in the managerial levels and especially of top officials.”
It said that even with the latest salary adjustment, the monthly pay of even mid-level personnel like public school teachers (Salary Grade 11, P30,024 for Step 1) estimated to be comprised of 803,272 personnel occupying Teacher 1 to Teacher 3 positions, “remains insufficient for a family living wage of P1,217 per day or P36,510 per month for a family of five to gave a decent and humane condition of living.”
“On the other hand, top officials like those in SG 31 to SG 33, including members of the Cabinet and of Congress and the President, are paid P293,191 up to P438,844,” the bill said.
Even with the last tranche of SSL V and this year’s installment of SSL VI, the militant lawmakers said “the frontliners in education will still be no better off than the police and soldiers in uniform, whose salaries the Duterte administration increased by 50 percent to 100 percent.”
They protested that public school teachers occupying Teacher 1 to Teacher 3 positions were only given measly increases of 4.95 percent to 5.6 percent under SSL V and SSL VI of Teacher III and Teacher I, respectively.”
“They might not bear arms but they are professionals with qualifications higher than police and soldiers,” the bill said. “It must be stressed that this level of pay of the main frontliners of education- professionals who went through long years of academic and practical training- amounts to less than the family living wage. No wonder most teachers would rather work abroad despite the risks and hazards to earn almost thrice or eight times the entry-level salary.”
The lawmakers said “heeding the demand for substantial salary increases promotes and protects the rights of the majority of our frontliners in education to decent lives, to be fully compensated for their hard work, and to a just return of the taxes they are faithfully paying.” “It is a matter of justice, one that must be granted at the soonest possible time for public school teachers,” they said.
Co also filed the Delivery of Accessible Services in Universities (DASURV) bill “to ensure comprehensive free education by eliminating other educational costs – namely, housing, health, and food – that burden students and their families.”
The neophyte lawyer-lawmaker said the measure is meant to complement the Students’ Rights and Welfare (STRAW) Bill, which protects democratic rights of students within all educational institutions.
“The DASURV Bill is our answer to the continuing financial barriers that prevent Filipino youth from accessing quality higher education. Hindi pa rin totoo ang free education kung marami pang kailangang bayaran ng mga estudyante at kanilang mga pamilya (Free education would not be realized if students and their families still have to pay for many things),” she said.
Co and Tinio also filed HB No. 213, which seeks to penalize red-tagging and HB No. 214 or the Human Rights Defenders Bill “to uphold and protect basic freedoms amid continuing attacks against progressive organizations and activists.”
They also refiled the SOGIESC Equality Bill, seeking to finally pass comprehensive anti-discrimination protection for the LGBTQIA+ community and filed another bill seeking protection for women and children through amendments to the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act and the Anti-Rape Law.
“For too long, the SOGIESC Equality Bill has been delayed despite overwhelming public support. Hindi na dapat maghintay pa ang LGBTQIA+ community para sa equal protection under the law,” Co said.
There were a total of 666 House bills and 16 resolutions and one joint resolution filed last Monday at the House.
Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, the speaker of the 19th Congress who is vying to retain his post in the 20th Congress, filed the first five bills led by HB No. 1 or the proposed “Rice Industry and Consumer Empowerment (RICE) Act,” which seeks to restore the National Food Authority’s (NFA) regulatory powers to lower rice prices and protect farmers.
Parañaque Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan, former representative of Bicol Saro party-list, vowed to filed a measure to increase the funding for the government’s Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) and set aside a regular allocation under the national budget for the program “to cover more beneficiaries and spur the growth of “nano” and micro enterprises.” – With Wendell Vigilia
