Scrap AKAP, govt urged

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Koko: Enact legislated wage hike instead

SENATE minority leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III yesterday urged the government to freeze the implementation of the Ayuda para sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP) and instead focus on the approval of measures proposing a legislative wage for minimum wage workers in the private sector.

AKAP is a P5,000 one-time financial assistance to workers who earn less than P23,000 monthly. It has a P60 billion allocation in the 2024 national budget, of which P26.7 billion is lodged with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

Pimentel noted that members of the House of Representatives and budget officials have cited the country’s high inflation rate to justify the distribution of the AKAP.

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But the defense, he said, is no longer true since the inflation rate has already dropped to 2.8 percent as of January this year.

“Ang masakit, ang dahilan ay hindi kasya ang sweldo kasi (mataas ang) inflation. Tapos naglabas ngayon ng report na 2.8 percent na lang ang inflation. So, mababa na lang. So, paano ‘yan, wala na ‘yung programa? (The reason that they gave was that the salaries [of targeted beneficiaries] are not enough due to high inflation. But the administration has reported that the inflation rate has gone down to 2.8 percent [as of January]. So, the purpose of the program is now defeated),” Pimentel said in an interview with radio dzBB.

He added: “So meron pa bang AKAP due to high inflation? Meron pa bang ganon (So is the justification that AKAP will be given due to high inflation still applies? Is the inflation rate still high)?”

Pimentel said the program was not well-thought of, pointing out that it was a last-minute insertion that was made during the bicameral discussions on the 2024 national budget.

“Magulo ‘yang programa na ‘yan kasi hindi inisip nang mabuti. Nilabas bigla sa bicam… So, ‘yang P60 billion nila, either gastusin o patulugin, huwag na lang ‘yan iutang para bawas na ‘yan sa utang natin (The program is disorganized because it was not planned well. It just surfaced during the bicam… So, the P60 billion [AKAP budget], either they spend it [for other purposes] or just leave it untouched. We don’t need to borrow for it),” he said.

LEGISLATED WAGE HIKE

Pimentel said the government should give private sector employers the discretion to assist their workers through the provision of higher salaries.

If the government really wants to help the workers in the private sector, he said the best thing to do is to approve measures proposing a legislated wage hike for minimum wage earners.

The Senate has passed on third and final reading a bill seeking a P100 per day increase in the salaries of minimum wage earners nationwide.

A measure has been filed at the House of Representatives proposing a P150 to P350 daily wage increase for the same sector.

Pimentel urged President Marcos Jr. to sign into law whatever would be the final version of the legislative wage increase proposal.

HANDS OFF

In the same interview, Pimentel said politicians should refrain from participating in the distribution of government financial assistance so as not to create an impression that the money being given came from the politicians.

He said while it is true that some politicians are invited by government agencies to deliver inspirational messages before the distribution of the cash aids, prudence dictates that they should leave the premises when the actual distribution of aid starts.

“Dapat mag-exit na sila sa actual na bigayan para hindi makapagbigay ng impression na akala ng tao ay galing sa bulsa ng politico ‘yun. Eh galing naman ‘yan sa buwis or utang, kaya pera ng taumbayan ‘yan. At saka bawal na rin ‘yung politiko or staff ang magbigay ng pera, dapat DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development) ‘yan (Politicians should leave the venue during the actual distribution of assistance so as not to give the impression that the money came from their own pockets. That money came from our taxes or was borrowed [by the government], that’s why it is the peoples’ money. Politicians and their staff members should not distribute them, it should be the DSWD),” he said.

Pimentel also said the government should come up with a system for the distribution of aid to ensure that these are given to intended beneficiaries, citing information that senators learned during a recent Senate hearing that an individual was able to claim financial assistance in different venues using five different identification cards (IDs).

For one, he said the DSWD and other concerned agencies can coordinate with the Commission on Elections so they can have the biometrics of the people to determine if they have already claimed their financial assistance.

“On paper, ire-report ng ahensiya nakatulong sila sa mga milyon-milyong kababayan natin kasi milyon-milyong pangalan ang nandoon pero ang problema ay ‘yung tunay na tao ay limang beses naka claim. So, kailangan natin ng tighter control. Upuan ulit ‘yan ng DSWD secretary, lahat sila, kung paano mag-improve ang detalye (On paper, an agency will report that it has helped millions of Filipinos because millions of names are listed. But the problem is, there are some who got their assistance multiple times. We need tighter controls. The DSWD secretary should sit down with all concerned agencies on how they can improve the distribution to beneficiaries),” he said.

SHOW PROOF OF ‘GRADUATES’

Also, Pimentel asked the government to present the “success” stories of beneficiaries of government aid programs, such as the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS), Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), and Kapit Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan Comprehensive Integrated Delivery of Services (KALAHI-CIDSS), among others, to determine if their lives were alleviated due to the programs.

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Pimentel said that while the DSWD has said that a number of beneficiaries have already “graduated” from the programs, the annual allocation for the programs keeps on increasing by the year.

“Sabi may graduates na. So, bigyan kami sino mga nag-gradute. Kailangan ma-prove ng DSWD. Kung titignan natin ang amount at number of families, palaki nang palaki ang programa nila, so failure ‘yung program (They said there are graduates. So, give us the list. DSWD has to prove it (that some have already graduated). If we look at the amount and the number of [beneficiary] families, the numbers keep on increasing, so that means the programs failed),” he added.

He said the President, being the source of the budget program, should tap all concerned agencies, including the Presidential Adviser on Poverty Alleviation, to rationalize the financial assistance programs and not waste the people’s money.

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