A former head of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on Friday said the government should utilize the P19 billion in the national budget allocated to address the impact of El Niño weather phenomenon in assisting and providing aid to drought-stricken farmers.
Expressing sadness over the bloody clash between cops and protesting peasants in Kidapawan City, North Cotabato, Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma said the government was keeping the farmers’ hopes up over the assistance that was really for them.
READ: CBCP leader: Aquino’s silence on Kidapawan incident shows apathy
“Alam naman natin na sinasasabi ng pamahalaan na may mga pondo at malaki-laki na rin ‘yung natipon. Kaya para sa akin lalo na sa mga calamities, it’s about time as early as possible, as soon as possible sana nga ‘yung support at ‘yung assistance should be given dun sa kanila,” Palma said over Church-run Radyo Veritas.
(We know that the government has been saying that there are funds [for the farmers] and the budget has been accumulated. So I think that especially during calamities, it’s about time as early as possible, as soon as possible that support and assistance should be given to them.)
Palma urged different government agencies to coordinate and mobilize calamity funds properly and immediately release them to affected farmers.
“Para sa akin ‘yung mga ganito isang reminder, isang news dispatch na halimbawa i-mobilize ‘yung agencies para makatulong talaga at matanggap agad. Kagaya natin, nag-expect tayo na kung ‘yung pondo para diyan, nararapat lamang na ibigay na sa kanila,” he said.
(I think an encounter like this is a reminder, a news dispatch that can be used to mobilize agencies to help the victims and assure that they will receive the support immediately. We expect that the funds intended for [the farmers] should be rightfully given to them.)
“Nakakalungkot na ‘yung tao alam na may pondo pero bakit hindi ibinigay o kailan ibibigay,” Palma added.
(It is unfortunate that people know that there are funds intended for them but are not given to them or it is unspecified when it will be given.)
Caceres Archbishop Rolando Tria Tirona, meanwhile, emphasized the need for a “proactive” government to effectively respond to crisis and calamities like El Niño.
“Dapat ang gobyerno, proactive. Alam nang may crisis na ganyan, dapat noon pa ‘yan. Dapat continuous, masusi silang papansinin at aasikasuhin na preemptive ‘yun, dapat ang government proactive,” Tirona said.
(The government must be proactive. If there is knowledge of a crisis of such nature, it should have been addressed before. The solution should be continuous and they will look after it carefully and address the problem in a preemptive way. The government must be proactive.)
“So we need a government that responds to the crisis that would help all sectors of the Filipino labor, fisherfolk, and everything. Hindi ‘yung kikilos lang kapag may krisis na (Not a government that will only act when there is a crisis at hand),” he added.
Tirona, who is also the director of Caritas Philippines, called for a grandstanding-free investigation of the bloody dispersal in Kidapawan, which led to the death of at least three farmers.
READ: Cops, farmers clash in Kidapawan; 2 dead
“Dapat talaga imbestigahin, kaya lang naiinis ako diyan grandstanding ang mga pulitiko riyan. Dapat inaksyunan talaga yan, hindi na dapat hinintay yung ganyang sitwasyon, another example of ineptitude na naman yan,” he said.
(It should be investigated but it irks me that it becomes political grandstanding. It should be acted on before and they shouldn’t have waited for a situation like that, this is another example of ineptitude.)
“We condemn the violence na nangyari dun, hindi dapat (ganoon) at yung reason na kapag may nagugutom, may hinaing maximum tolerance, dapat pakinggan, dapat nandun ang gobyerno. Hindi ina-anticipate ang needs ng tao,” Tirona added.
(We condemn the violence that happened in Kidapawan, it shouldn’t be like that and if people are protesting that they are hungry, there should be maximum tolerance, the people’s plea should be heard and the government should be there. It is clear that the government is not anticipating the needs of the people.) RAM