By Hannah Torregoza Senator Cynthia Villar on Monday renewed her call for the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD ) and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) to once and for all identify all the beneficiaries of the government’s cash aid program. Sen. Cynthia Villar (Senate of the Philippines / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO) Villar reiterated there is a need to clear the confusion in the classification of income classes that caused the discrepancy in the figures both agencies presented to the senators in the Senate committee of the whole’s hearing on the government’s COVID-19 response last week. “Even if I have issued an apology about my remarks, I am still waiting for an explanation from the DSWD and NEDA about my inquiry to them to clearly identify the recipients or beneficiaries of the government’s cash aid,” Villar said in a statement. “I found some inconsistencies and discrepancies in the figures they presented.” In the hearing, Villar prodded Social Welfare Secretary Rolando Bautista to explain how the DSWD came up with the 18 million beneficiaries it identified in its report, which supposedly represents 82 percent of the population. Villar had asked both agencies to provide senators a written explanation, which she said she has yet to receive. She said there is also a need for DSWD and NEDA to clarify if other income classes were included among the beneficiaries. According to Villar, the middle income class is further divided into three categories: · lower middle income (earning between P19,000 and P38,000); · middle middle income (between P38,000 and P67,000); both categories are 26 percent of the population and · upper middle income (between PhP67,000 to PhP114,000) who are 13 percent of the population “They have to disclose who the beneficiaries are. I have no problem if they included the middle income earners as long as they are qualified,” Villar said. “The intended beneficiaries should be the ones to receive the cash aid and figures should add up,” added the senator. The lawmaker said she also wants to know how the DSWD was able to identify the other beneficiaries when the only available list they have is of people under the government’s conditional cash transfer program which is 4.5 million families. According to the DSWD, they relegated the task of identifying other beneficiaries to the local government units (LGUs). “There are so many people who have been complaining that they did not receive any cash aid. How did the local government and barangay officials identified the beneficiaries not determined by the DSWD? “We want that disclosed so people will understand if they are among the intended beneficiaries or not,” she said. She further warned that senators can exercise their oversight function as they need to monitor the disbursement of government funds since these are not infinite and could run out sooner or later. “There is the so-called check-and-balance between the executive and the legislative branches of the government. I would be remiss in my mandate as a senator if I will not inquire about or question some government actions or policies,” Villar said. “The end of the pandemic is not yet in sight. Thus, the long-term sustainability of funds is important,” she pointed out.