LAMBAYONG, Sultan Kudarat–Presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. proposed that daycare centers be improved to better accommodate solo parents, adding that schools should handle the feeding and healthcare programs of children.
“Sa aking palagay, lalo na yung solo parent, yung single parent. Nagtatrabaho pero may inaalagaan na bata. So ang pagandahin natin ang support ng daycare center natin (In my opinion, especially among solo parents who work and have to take care of children, we should improve support for our daycare centers),” Marcos said to a single parent during a town hall session with sectoral representatives in Lambayong, Sultan Kudarat on Monday, March 28.
He then pushed for the distribution of “honorarium” to daycare volunteers nationwide.
An honorarium is a payment made for services in which the payor is not legally obligated to pay the worker who rendered their services. It is often given as a way to thank the worker.
“Sa ngayon ang mga daycare volunteer natin ay volunteer, wala silang bayad na kahit ano. Yung ibang local government unit (LGU) nakakapagbigay sila ng honorarium. Ang proposal ko matagal na nasa Congress pa ako nasa Senado pa ako matagal ko na sinasabi. Dapat yung mga volunteers ay bigyan na ng honorarium dahil naman napalaki at napakaimportante ng ginagawa (Daycare workers are volunteers, they don't have any salary whatsoever. Other LGUs distribute honorarium payments. My proposal since I was in Congress and in the Senate has been to give honorarium to volunteers because the work they do is important),” Marcos explained.
Currently, the honorarium ranges from P1,000 a month outside the National Capital Region (NCR) to up to P15,000 a month within the NCR. Both are dependent on the host barangay’s discretion.
The UniTeam presidential candidate then explained that he thinks schools should handle the feeding programs and healthcare of children, as a further way to support solo parents.
“Mga napag usapan natin yung mga feeding program and healthcare ng mga bata, dapat kasama na yan sa mga eskwelahan. Dapat meron silang checkup, tinitignan sila ng mga nurse ng doktor. Tapos may feeding program, yung nutribun natin yung binibigay dati sa mga bata, isang malaking tinapay na ganun na pwede na for one day (When we talk about the feeding programs and healthcare of children, these should be included in schools. They should get checkups, be checked on by nurses and doctors. Then there should also be a feeding program, like the nutribun that was given to children before. A big piece of bread that was enough for one day),” Marcos expounded.
Marcos was referring to the nutribun, which the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) assisted the Philippines with from 1972 up to 1997 to combat the rapidly increasing rates of child malnutrition in the late 1960s.
“Tapos ano pa ang pangangailangan para yung bata ay makapag-aral nang mabuti, yun palagay ko ang pinakamalaking tulong that we can do for the solo parent (What children need to study more effectively, I think these are the most important things we can do to help the solo parent),” he concluded.