Youth programs become pawns in Makati politics

AS THE campaign season heats up, the battle for political control of Makati City is apparently spilling into the local government programs for the youth.

Mayor Romulo Peña is protesting a recent decision of the city council to delay the implementation of the Government Internship Program (GIP) and the Special Program for Employment of Students (SPES) purportedly to shield their participants from “political exploitation.”

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Peña disclosed that the councilors—who are all allies of the dismissed mayor, Junjun Binay—changed the schedule of the GIP and SPES from April to July.

“How can the students benefit from this program in July when it is supposed to be granted to them during summer when they do not have classes?” said Peña, who is up against Junjun’s sister, Rep. Abby Binay, in the mayoralty race.

He noted that the council’s decision to defer those two programs for political reasons was unprecedented.

Pena was referring to a joint report of the council’s Committee on Appropriations and Budget and the Committee on Rules, Legal Matters and Ethics, which said this year’s GIP and SPES projects would be carried out “after June 30.”

This is “to prevent any allegation or possibility for the program to be, wittingly or unwittingly, used for political gain or purpose,” according to the report, which was sent to the mayor’s office in the second week of March.

The councilors also pointed out that the delay would also protect the beneficiaries “from the real and present danger of political exploitation relative to the implementation of GIP/SPES during the election (period).”

The two programs benefit around 6,000 Makati residents each year.

The GIP allows each student to earn around P8,000 in 23 days doing mostly clerical work for the city government. SPES, on the other hand, is a joint program of the local government unit and the Department of Labor and Employment that gives a beneficiary the opportunity to earn P10,000 to P12,000 in 30 days.

Records from the Makati Public Employment Services Office (Peso) showed that the budget for the internship program is about P50 million, which covers the beneficiaries’ allowances, supplies and uniform.

Registration starts as early as February since applicants need to undergo screening and evaluation. This summer, an average of 30 students a day have inquired about the programs at Peso, according to one of the mayor’s aides.

Councilor Marie Alethea Casal-Uy, chair of the Committee on Appropriations and Budget, could not be immediately reached for comment and had yet to return the Inquirer’s calls and text messages at press time.