Panfilo "Ping" Lacson (center) (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)

PILI, Camarines Sur--has the glut of financial assistance or "ayuda" that's available to Filipinos cause unemployment rate to rise?

This was raised by Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas senatorial candidate Panfilo "Ping" Lacson during a press conference here Friday, March 7 a few hours ahead of the administration slate's big campaign.

"Baka naman sa sobrang pagbigay ng ayuda tinamad ang ating kababayan, ayaw magtrabaho? So we should, I think this is personal opinion, i-revisit natin sa napakaraming porma ng ayuda," said Lacson, a former senator.

(Could it be that with the overabundance of financial assistance to our countrymen, some of them don't want to work anymore. So we should, I think this is personal opinion, revisit our many forms of financial assistance.)

Lacson gave this remark after the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that unemployment rate in January rose to 4.3 percent, up from 3.1 percent in December 2024.

"Di natin alam baka isa ito sa causes kung bakit tumaas ang unemployment rate from 3.1 to 4.3 percent kasi tinatamad na. 'Anyway meron naman darating sa aking AKAP,'" he said, referring to the Ayuda Para sa Kapos ang Kita Program.

(We may not know it but this could be one of the causes why unemployment rate jumped from 3.1 to 4.3 percent, they've become lazy. 'Anyway I have AKAP on the way.')

According to Lacson, the best ayuda is still the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps. Thus, lamwakers should look to strengthen the program, instead of creating other financial assistance schemes.

"Ito (4Ps) talagang may datos, data-driven. Kung bigay ng bigay tayo ng ayuda at di ito nakabase sa datos na provided ng PSA o national government, baka natatapon ang pera," Lacson said.

(This 4Ps is really backed by data, data-driven. If we keep releasing ayuda that's not based on PSA or government data, then maybe we're just throwing away money.)

"I hope my colleagues and former colleagues will bear me out, this is my personal opinion, sana mag-stick tayo, enhance natin ang 4Ps kasi pinag-aralan yan (so let's stick to it, let's enhance 4Ps because it had been studied.)