'Conditions attached to govt dole-out program demean the poor,' says militants

NEWS I August 15, 2011

MANILA—The conditions attached to the government's cash dole-out program are insulting and at the same time demeaning the poor Filipinos. According to an urban poor group Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (Kadamay), by posing such conditions, the government presumes that the poor would prefer not sending their children to school, nor taking regular medical check-up unless there are cash incentives at hand.

The cash conditional transfer as the government's flagship anti-poverty program gives a maximum of P1400 cash incentives to the poorest of poor Filipino families with conditions of ensuring that their children would attend 80% of the school days, or the mother take regular monthly check-ups.

Gloria Arellano, Kadamay national secretary-general, says: "We are not dumb as what the government thinks of us, who would prefer not to send children to school even if we have a choice to do so."

The group says it's the lack of job opportunities for the parents that hinders their children from going to school. “Sometimes it's the children who volunteer to stop from studying to earn additional income for the family,” Arellano says.

Blaming the poor
"It's the real picture that the Aquino administration disregards," according to the group. "Like a dog barking at the wrong tree, the government' cash dole-out program is not designed to hit the real problem. It even indirectly blames the parents, points us at the culprit to cover-up the futility of Aquino's economic policies in addressing the issue of rampant joblessness and widespread poverty, even offering them incentives to correct the 'misconduct," Arellano adds.

“Even if the government's intention were true, the P300 allotted for each child to ensure that they go to school will never suffice without jobs or sources of income available to the parents,” she says.

Costly, useless and corruption-prone
Earlier, the urban poor group has denounced the cash dole-out scheme calling it costly, useless and highly prone to corruption.

“It seems that only the president and his cohorts remain followers of the programs,” the urban leader adds. She said this in the light of scores of negative criticisms coming different sectors and politicians addressed to CCT after the president proposed an almost P18-B additional budget for CCT for next year. The program targets to acquire 3-M family beneficiaries by January 2013, with around 30.4-B budget for the 2012, from this years more than 21-B budget allocation.

“Why would Pres. Aquino spend the taxpayers' money to projects that has no assurance of benefiting the poor in both short and long terms,” the group says. As it points out Aquino and Sec. Dinky Soliman of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the government agency who facilitates the program, are riding on the issue of poverty to divert funds to programs that is very prone to corruption.

Budget realignment
Instead, the urban poor group asks the government should realign the whole budget of CCT to job creations efforts and provision of social services that will directly benefit the poor, such as free and unconditional medical check-ups and examinations, housing programs and schools in every barangay with complete facilities.

While the government continues to curtail budget for health, education and other social services hoping its privatization scheme through Public-Private Partnership will complement the insufficiency, “it should stop allotting big chunks of the national budget to debt servicing, military modernization, and corruption-prone cash dole-out program.” Arellano says.

Anti-CCT campaign inside the Congress
In the coming days, Kadamay, with Anakpawis Congressman Rafael Mariano will conduct lobbying efforts among congressmen at the House of the Representatives to campaign against the unpopular budget allocation for CCT. The group will make everything to register its complaint regarding the program before the hearing of the proposed 2012 DSWD budget on the Lower Congress on August 22.

“We don't have plenty of fund to support programs that are questionable and uncalled for?” Arellano ends.

Reference: Gloria Arellano, Kadamay National Secretary-General (09123927457)