Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Jil Bongalon (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)

House Assistant Majority Leader and Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Raul Angelo "Jil" Bongalon expressed his support for the proposed supplemental budget to address the funding gap caused by Senator Imee Marcos’ P13-billion realignment from the 2023 budget of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

“Batas po itong 4Ps (The 4Ps is a law), and we are mandated to fund its implementation. This will give justice to 4Ps beneficiaries who have been deprived of financial aid because of the deficit and the budget cut,” Bongalon said in a statement on Tuesday, March 26.

The 4Ps reportedly has a P9-billion deficit. This approximately accounts for 843,000 families or four million poor Filipinos that didn't receive their due cash aID.

If such a gap continues to exist, Bongalon said the objective of the 4Ps Act or Republic Act (RA) No. 11310 will not be realized. Thus, the failure to help reduce poverty incidence in the country.

“The longer the deficit stays, the more we deprive these four million poor Filipinos of a fighting chance to triumph over poverty,” said Bongalon, referring to the number of target beneficiaries.

“Imagine a family na nakakatanggap ng 4Ps tapos biglang nawalan noong 2023 at 2024 dahil sa deficit. Paano na ang mga anak nilang nag-aaral? Titigil ba sila dahil walang pondo para sa kanila? Hindi tumitigil ang gastos at pangangailangan ng ating kababayan, kaya dapat natin itong lutasin,” he stressed.

(Imagine a family that receives 4Ps and then suddenly loses it in 2023 and 2024 due to the deficit. How about their children in school? Will they stop because there is no funding for them? The cost and needs of our countrymen do not stop, so we must solve this.)

Bongalon explained that the program is meant to help impoverished Filipinos with their daily needs and to give them the opportunity to send their children to school.

The Bicolano recently accused Senator Marcos of being behind this budget deficit when she was the head of the Senate finance sub-committee in charge of the budget of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

During last week’s hearing of the House Committees on Public Accounts and Social Services, the department verified the existence of the P9-billion deficit in the 4Ps.

DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian has also confirmed Senator Marcos’ realignment of P13 billion in 2023 that was supposed to be for the 4Ps was instead given to programs such as KALAHI-CIDSS, AICS, and the quick response fund for calamities.

It was House Deputy Speaker Quezon 2nd district Rep. David Suarez who first proposed the funding for a supplemental budget to address the 4Ps deficit.