37 solons oppose Aquino's conditional cash transfer program
Thirty-seven lawmakers, most of whom are allies of President Benigno Simeon Aquino III, formally opposed on Monday the allocation of P21.9 billion to the conditional cash transfer program of the administration. In a manifesto, the legislators said they would work for the realignment of funds intended for the CCT to the construction of schools hospitals, health centers, housing programs, agriculture and others that directly address the needs of the poor for jobs, livelihood and services. âWe, the undersigned, express our opposition to the allocation of P21.9 billion for Conditional Cash Transfers (CCTs) in the 2011 General Appropriations Act at the expense of more vital social and economic services," they said. They said the amount appropriated under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development represents a two-fold increase from the P10 billion allocated to the same program in 2010. â(It indicates) that CCTs have become the Aquino administrationâs main strategy for poverty alleviation," they said. They questioned the wisdom of allotting such a substantial portion of governmentâs scarce resources to CCTs given the grave lack of funds for basic social services and economic services. âThe (CCT is) a costly palliative, an unsustainable program of dole-outs that will perpetuate the politics of patronage and encourage a culture of mendicancy. CCTs cannot take the place of a long-term strategy that addresses the root causes of poverty through asset redistribution and job generation," the lawmakers said. The manifesto will be presented to the House leadership for consideration. The chamber has 278 members, 52 of whom are partylist representatives. The House members earlier sought a separate plenary vote on the implementation of CCT, however Speaker Feliciano Belmonte thumbed down the proposal and assured that the program will get the nod of the chamber. House majority bloc members who affixed their signature to the manifesto were: