Mayor says cash handouts treated as wage

Some recipients in Masbate of government funds through the conditional cash transfer (CCT) program are treating the subsidy as wages that they could pawn or pay goods for in advance, according to a town mayor in the province.

Mayor Ruel Benisano, of Balud town (78 kilometers from Masbate City), said CCT beneficiaries in his town pawn their subsidies and pay back after getting cash from the government.

Retail stores in his town, the mayor said, allow CCT beneficiaries to borrow goods but set a credit limit equivalent to the beneficiaries’ P1,400 monthly allotment.

He said the list of beneficiaries should be reviewed to remove those that are not in dire need of the cash transfer.

“In our town this has resulted in teachers and barangay officials being included on the list,” he said.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is requesting Congress for a budget of P39.5 billion to finance the CCT program next year.

But some congressmen question the way the program was being implemented following reports that loan sharks have been preying on CCT beneficiaries.

Rep. Alfredo Garbin, of the Ako Bikol party-list, said he would ask the DSWD to explain the leaks in the program’s implementation.

Garbin said he had talked with several beneficiaries in Albay and Sorsogon and was told they advance money from loan sharks in exchange for a 10-percent deduction from their P1,400 monthly allotment.

He said he would propose that instead of simply giving out cash to beneficiaries, the government should implement a cash-for-work program.