(As beneficiaries hit 2 million mark) Urban poor group claims CCT irrelevant in dubious decline in self-rated hunger

PRESS RELEASE I July 4, 2011

As government officials attribute the significant decrease of hunger incidence to the short-term effect of Aquino's Conditional Cash Transfers (CCT), Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap, a militant urban poor group denies the claim and describes the dole-out program “futile in the nation's fight against poverty” as its beneficiaries reach the 2 million-mark today.

Albay governor Joey Salceda, an economist, believed that the expansion of the CCT program is the reason why, as shown by a recent Social Weather Station (SWS) survey, the overall hunger incidence in the country has dropped by 6 percent, from 3.9 million familes in the second half of 2010 to 3 million families in the second quarter of this year.

CCT, the largest part of the popular Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), is the flagship poverty alleviation effort of the Aquino administration that rewads the poorest of Filipino households a maximum of P1,400 every month for following certain conditions.

The urban poor group claims that the decline in the hunger incidence, and the 2-million CCT beneficiary-families disclosed by Aquino in advance in his first year anniversary speech in Ultra, are part of a conditioning effort to support his achievements come his second State of the Nation Address later this month.

Kadamay national chair Leona Zarsuela first questions the fact that less Filipinos have experienced involuntary hunger during the second quarter of the year. She says, “the unabated hikes in prices and fuel, meager increase in wage and the consistent lack of job opportunities and land to till for the farmers during this period should instead increase the incidence of hunger.”

Zarsuela adds, “considering the survey results to be good, Pnoy's cash transfer program is even more doubtful to have relevant effect to the decline in self-rated hunger.”

The group cites that Luzon (Metro Manila excluded), where the hunger incidence plummets to single digit 9.5% from 25.0% during the first quarter, is not the priority area of implementation of the cash transfer program. While the CCT priority areas of Visayas and Mindanao recorded a significant increase in self-rated hunger, with +6.3% and +5% respectively. Mindanao has the lion's share of CCT beneficiary familes at about 48 percent.

According to Ibon Foundation, an independent economic think tank, “while CCTs at first glance seem unobjectionable, looking at them from a progressive social development perspective and in the concrete conditions of the Philippines raises some serious concerns. They may well provide welcome relief to beneciary families but if the economy does not get the radical reforms it so badly needed, then the root causes of poverty will remain—and Filipinos will remain as poor as ever.”

“Whether hunger incidence has increased or decreased in the first year of the Aquino administration, what the survey nor Pnoy himself seemingly cannot fix is the very high number of Filipinos experiencing hunger and considering themselves poor,” the militant leader remarks.

“Leaving his Porsche-lifestyle and other hobbies behind to set as an example, Pnoy must stop his costly and corruption-prone stopgap measures, and device permanent and realistic solutions to alleviate millions of Filipinos from poverty,” Zarsuela adds.

“Execute radical reforms. Genuine land reform to give oppurtunities to every poor Filipino families, freedom from neoliberal econimic polices, and nationalist industrialization shall break the bond of poverty. We challenge Pnoy to implement them during his term, as no presidents had done in the past.”#

Reference: Carlito Badion, KADAMAY National Vice Chair (0949.437.3717)