Lawmaker hits proposed P10,000 a day stipend for con-con delegates

Alliance of Concerned Teachers Rep. France Castro. (FILE PHOTO)

MANILA, Philippines — Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Party-list Rep. France Castro on Tuesday slammed the proposed P10,000 daily allowance of delegates to the constitutional convention (con-con) that will amend the 1987 Constitution.

The lawmaker thought it would be absurd to give con-con delegates such a stipend daily when poor Filipino families are only provided P500 a month amid the rising cost of commodities.

Under House Bill 7352, con-con members shall receive an allowance of P10,000 daily. This bill, which mainly contains the implementing rules and regulations for the con-con, was passed on the second reading on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Department of Finance announced that 9.3 million vulnerable families would get P500 each month to help cushion the blow of inflation.

READ: P26.6B in subsidies for vulnerable sector allotted amid high inflation — DOF

“Tatanggap ng P10,000 kada araw ang magiging mga delegado ng [con-con] na sa loob ng wala pang isang taon ay magkakaroon ng mahigit P1 milyong piso pero ‘di man lang mabigyan ng one time big time na P10,000 ang mga Pilipinong naghihirap,” Castro said in a statement.

(The con-con delegates will get P10,000 a day and, in less than one year, will get P1 million pesos, but impoverished Filipinos cannot even be given a one-time, big-time P10,000 aid.)

Castro previously expressed outrage that the cost to change the 1987 Constitution would reach P15 billion.

READ: Charter change cost to hit P15 billion

“Malinaw na ang pamahalaang Marcos ay may pera para sa cha-cha pero binabarat pa ang mga naghihirap na nga. Mabuti pang ibasura na ang Cha-cha at ilaan ang pera para dito sa ayuda,” she said.

(It is clear that the Marcos administration has money for Cha-cha but is stingy regarding the already suffering Filipinos. It would be better to junk Cha-cha and allocate the money for aid.)

A resolution calling for a con-con to amend the 1987 Constitution was passed in the House of Representatives on the third and final reading on Monday, March 6.

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