Reserve gov’t cash transfer funds for disaster victims — Poe

Sen. Grace Poe on Tuesday said she wants a part of the government’s conditional cash transfer (CCT) fund reserved for victims of natural disasters.

“Kaysa bigyan sila ng groceries paminsan-minsan, bakit hindi na lang gawing regular, organisado, at fixed ang time-frame ng ayuda? At kung pera ito, sila ang mag-desisyon kung ano ang mas higit na kailangan nila,” Poe said in a statement on Tuesday.

(Instead of giving them groceries from time to time, why don’t we make this financial aid regular, organized and with a fixed time-frame? If they get cash, they can decide how to spend it best for their needs.)

Poe said five percent of the cash transfer fund must be alloted to victims of natural disasters and other calamities.

“That means for every one million CCT enrollees, we are keeping P50,000 in reserve for those who will be displaced in the future,” she said.

Poe lamented that victims of calamities are often burdened already by poverty and their  situation is even worsened by disasters.

“Ang pinakamalala ay ‘yung mga taong bugbog sarado na ng kahirapan, sinira pa ang kagamitan at kabuhayan ng bagyo at baha (What is worse is that the livelihood of those who are very poor are often destroyed by storms and floods),” Poe said.

When asked about the duration of the cash transfer, Poe said it would depend on the assessment of government officials.

“Dapat malinaw kung ano ang hangganan nito — kung bibigyan pa sila in the coming year. At least makakabawas iyan sa aalalahanin nila at pangalawa, mandato rin dapat ng gobyerno iyan na ‘yung pera na nandiyan ay ipamahagi na agad,” Poe said.

(The period of implementation should be clear and whether or not the financial aid should be continued until the following year. But it would lessen their burden. It is also part of the government’s mandate to distribute  this cash to those who are most in need.)

Around P88 billion in the proposed 2019 budget will be alloted for the the cash transfer program called the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps). /ee