P16 daily aid ‘too paltry’ to even buy half kilo of rice –Poe

(FILE) AIDING THE POOR A resident of Barangay Rawis in Legazpi City, Albay, checks the cash assistance he received from the government as the country deals with the coronavirus pandemic.—MARK ALVIC ESPLANA

MANILA, Philippines —The government’s P500 monthly subsidy, equivalent to P16 per day, for three months is “too paltry” to even purchase a half kilo of rice, Senator Grace Poe said Thursday.

“Compared to P200, the P500 per month aid to the poorest of the poor may look better on its face but there’s a catch. From the earlier promised year-long assistance, it was announced that the cash aid can be guaranteed for only three months,” Poe said in a statement.

“Stretched to a month, P500 translates to only P16.67 per day, which is insufficient to cover for the oil price hikes in the past few weeks. Too paltry that it could not afford a family a half kilo of rice,” she continued.

President Rodrigo Duterte initially approved a P200 monthly aid, good for a year, for families who are in the bottom 50 percent of the population amid rising fuel costs.

It was eventually increased to P500 per month as the president finds it meager.

However, the P500 subsidy could only cover up to three months, according to the Department of Budget and Management.

Poe lamented that as the war between Ukraine and Russia — a key crude producer — continues, oil prices will increase which will have an effect on the cost of commodities.

The senator noted that there are billions in unused or unobligated funds that could be tapped for necessities.

“Every year, various agencies receive audit reports of unused or unobligated funds running in the billions that could be tapped for exigencies,” she said.

“It is adding insult to agony to be close-fisted in allocating aid for a few months and leaving our people’s woes hanging for the next administration to solve,” Poe added.

/MUF