Cash subsidies for poor to improve kids’ health, education
By Allison Lopez
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 23:25:00 04/28/2008
MANILA, Philippines -- Social Welfare Secretary Esperanza Cabral has defended the government's P5 billion cash-assistance program, saying poor families will receive "incentives" for health and education, not "dole-outs" as what critics have said.
At the Kapihan sa Manila Hotel forum, Cabral said on Monday that the Ahon Pamilyang Pinoy (APP, Rise Filipino Family) program has been patterned after "successful" poverty-reduction projects in Latin America.
"It's not a dole-out... they have to keep certain conditions. We are inviting them (critics) to come and look at the program in detail so they will understand the program before they make any comments. It is a conditional cash-transfer program," she said.
The five-year APP program, she said, would benefit 300,000 families in the country's 20 poorest provinces through P500 for each family that would send their children to health centers; plus P300 for every child, provided that parents would make sure that the child meet at least 85 percent school attendance. Three children per household is the maximum.
Cabral pointed out that the cash subsidy would simply supplement beneficiary families’ other income as they would die of hunger if they were to depend solely on the P1,400 maximum amount they could get.
She added that they received positive feedback from pilot areas in Agusan del Sur, Misamis Occidental, Pasay City and Caloocan City where the APP was implemented in January.
"So far so good... they used their money to send their children to school and send them to the health centers. So far wala pang hindi nagko-comply. Sila mismo nag-agree na mahusay ito sa pamilya nila (So far, nobody has failed to comply. They themselves agreed that it has been good to their families)... It's part of our development goal to improve participation in basic education, and to improve the health and nutrition in the family," she said.
The allotted budget for the APP's five-year run, noted the social welfare secretary, was actually small compared to other government projects.
"P5 billion may seem like a big amount to you but compared to, for example, the budget for the Davao-Surigao road which is P92B, that's peanuts and yet it's going to help directly 300,000 families or 900,000 children," Cabral stressed.
On the family access-cards program for cheap rice in the villages, she said bar codes would be used to prevent duplication or fraud.
Around 500,000 passes will be given to families earning P5,000 or less a month for access to rice at P18.25 per kilo, in a bid to help the poor amid rising food prices.
Cabral also denied that the department began issuing access cards as they were in the stage of completing the lists of poor families provided by local government units, and verifying the names on the list.
"The President's deadline of two weeks to start the program will lapse tomorrow (Tuesday). We have no choice but to request for an extension since the LGUs have yet to complete their lists," she said.
The Philippine National Police has been asked to provide security during the distribution of the access cards to avert any commotion, added Cabral.
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