Ni NOEL ABUEL
Iginiit ni Deputy Majority Leader at Tingog party list Rep. Jude Acidre na dapat managot si Senador Imee Marcos sa kanyang mga nasasakupan para sa pananagutan sa pagbabawas ng 2023 budget para sa Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) ng P13 bilyon.
Ayon sa kongresista, ang budget realignment ay inamin umano mismo ni Marcos sa isang press statement, at pinagkaitan ng halos 900,000 pamilya o 4.3 milyong indibidwal ang tulong sa ilalim ng 4Ps program ng Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
“Ang tanong d’yan kung tinanggal ‘yan, I don’t think the accountability of Sen. Marcos is simply by admitting that she was the one who removed that from the budget during the bicam. I think her accountability to her constituents is to also explain to them, ‘where did the money go,’” sabi ni Acidre.
“Because this is not just a simple program, this is not (just) a project of the government. The 4Ps is the law, and as a law, we (as lawmakers) are duty-bound to implement it,” dagdag nito.
Sa isang kamakailang pahayag, inamin ni Marcos ang pagrekomenda ng humigit-kumulang P8 bilyon na pondo ng 4Ps na i-realign sa iba pang programa ng DSWD tulad ng supplemental feeding, KALAHI-CIDSS, Quick Response Fund para sa mga kalamidad, at AICS sa mga deliberasyon ng 2023 national budget sa 2022.
“The PhP5-billion AICS reduction, on the other hand, occurred after I had recommended the amount in the Senate version, but the bicameral removed it for lack of fiscal space post-Covid. Those two amounts – PhP8 billion plus PhP5 billion – are perhaps what some befuddled members are referring to,” sa inilabas na pahayag ni Marcos.
Sinabi ni Acidre na maaaring nakalimutan ni Marcos na ang 4Ps Program ay hindi lamang programa ng gobyerno at ito ay nasa batas na nakapaloob sa Republic Act (RA) No. 11310 o ang 4Ps Act.
“I think the good senator has also forgotten that 4Ps is not just a program of government. It is actually a law. In fact, sa implementation ng batas, ‘yun ‘yung may stages ng Listahanan 1, Listahanan 2. Hindi po ito arbitary (action) ng DSWD na gusto lang magkaroon ng 4Ps,” sabi pa ni Acidre.
“Ito po ay ipinagkaloob sa mamamayan sa isang batas, na kami po bilang mga mambabatas, ay sana ho naisip namin na kailangan nating ipatupad, lalung-lalo na kung ang isang batas ay may layunin na pagandahin o magkaroon naman ng konting ginhawa ang ating mga kababayan,” giit nito.
Si Ako Bicol Rep. Jil Bongalon, vice chair ng House Committee on Appropriations, ang nagsiwalat na halos 900,000 kabahayan o 4.3 milyong Pilipino na kabilang sa mga ‘poorest of the poor’ ay hindi nakatanggap ng cash grant na may kabuuang P13 bilyon mula sa 4Ps Program matapos ilipat ni Marcos ang mga pondong ito sa iba pang social amelioration programs.
“If we do the math, P13-billion divided by P15,000 per household per year, means 867,000 families or 4.3-million poor individuals got zero cash assistance from the DSWD’s 4Ps program last year, thanks to Sen. Imee,” ani Bongalon.
“As vice chair of the Committee on Appropriations, I learned that it was Sen. Marcos – as head of the Senate finance sub-committee in charge of DSWD’s budget – who slashed P13-billion from the 4Ps budget. This left the most vulnerable sectors without financial aid last year, possibly until the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) receives its 2024 budget,” dagdag pa nito.
Ibinunyag pa ng mambabatas na ang P13 bilyong budget realignment ay maaaring “tip of the iceberg” lamang.
“I understand that Sen. Imee has been realigning significant portions of the 4Ps budget every year since 2021 but we’re still compiling the data,” ayon pa kay Bongalon.
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