Saying that the government should do "much better", former House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano has pitched a way for the state to muster enough funds so it can give each Filipino family P10,000 in direct cash aid or "ayuda".
Not only that, but Cayetano said there will also be P50 billion worth of stand-by funds left when all is said and done.
“Alam ng Pangulo y'ung aking suporta sa kanya, so I hope hindi nila masamain itong counter-proposal. Simple ang proposal: institute a mandatory five percent savings in all government agencies (The President knows he has my full support, so I hope he isn’t offended by my counter-proposal. The proposal is simple: institute a mandatory five percent savings in all government agencies)," the Taguig-Pateros 1st district congressman said in Filipino on Thursday, March 17.
"Five percent will give you P250 billion. Once you get P250 billion, you can give each Filipino family P10,000, mayr'on ka pang P50 billion na naka-stand-by (you still have P50 billion on standby)," added the senatorial candidate in the May 2022 polls.
The proposal that Cayetano is "countering" is the one the public learned Wednesday, when President Duterte had approved the proposal of the Department of Finance (DOF) to provide a monthly subsidy of P200 per household for poor families. The subsidy is meant to help cushion the blow of soaring pump fuel prices .
"I appreciate the efforts of the government but... we really have to do much, much better," he said. "Wala nang iiyak sa five percent. Napakaliit nyan (No agency will complain about losing five percent. That’s a very small percentage."
Cayetano and his allies had filed the 10K Ayuda Bill in the House of Representatives on February 1, 2021 but this was not included in the final version of "Bayanihan 3"--the last of the Covid-19 response laws crafted in the current18th Congress.
To push for its passage, Cayetano launched two programs that provided direct aid to select beneficiaries: Sampung Libong Pag-asa which gave P10,000 to families and Sari-saring Pag-asa which gave P3,500 to small business owners.
Cayetano said far from being a dole-out, the "teach a man to fish" approach is necessary to cover pressing financial burdens. He said it is also better than piecemeal amounts that would last families only a short time.
At any rate, the ex-Speaker reckoned that government must institute changes now and not wait for the next administration to come because by then, the new government will have its own focus and plans for recovery.
“Kung ano man ang usapan ngayon na iibigay sa tao, pagdating ng susunod na administrasyon, maiiba din yan. So, kung nabigay mo na yung limang libo, sampung libo, tapos na (Whatever is decided to give as aid now, when the new administration comes in things will change. So if you give P5,000 or P10,000 now, it’s done)," he noted.