CCT an aspect of multi-approaches to address poverty – govt official

Amid criticisms that Aquino administration’s conditional cash transfer (CCT) program is a "stop-gap measure" against poverty, a government official said the program is merely an aspect in a multi-dimensional approach to poverty. "There's been a lot of hype in media [about] the program," Shahani said. "… [M]any may not be aware of the fact that the anti-poverty strategy that the government has drawn up is really fairly complex and multi-pronged," said National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) Assistant Secretary Lila Shahani in a speech at the forum on inclusive growth Wednesday. The forum was organized by the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) and the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) Policy Center. Without going into specifics, Shahani said the Human Development and Poverty Reduction cluster of the Cabinet has sat down and talked about possible measures they could use, and has "reached a point where the cluster and the President are already in agreement." The CCT program has its place in poverty reduction as it has been demonstrated in other countries such as Chile and Mexico, but other aspects should also be accounted for, she pointed out. "Health and education are great, but we also have to talk about asset reform, competitive agriculture and the entire socioeconomic infrastructure that would break the cycle of inter-generational poverty," Shahani said. Supply side issues The NAPC official further stressed that Aside from financial assistance to families that meet certain conditions under the CCT program, government is still keen on addressing some supply side issues. "The problem with CCT... is that you can only give a family P1,400 a month... if they belong to a barangay that actually has a school, a rural health unit or a hospital," she said. "Kung walang school, anong gagawin mo? What are they gonna do with the money? We recognize that as a problem," she added. Shahani disclosed that the 2012 budgets of the Department of Education and the Department of Health is going to focus significantly on addressing such supply-side issues. "We are not unaware of this," she stressed. The amount allotted by the Aquino administration to social services — at about 34 percent of the national budget — is "unprecedented" in history, signifying the government's intent toward inclusive growth, she claimed. Shahani underscored that in the past administration the growth elasticity of poverty — a measure of how much in percentage terms trickles down to the poor for every 1 percent of economic growth — has settled between 0.02 percent to 0.06 percent. "If we allow the economic growth to take its natural course, only the elite will benefit," she said. "That is why we have programs — [such as the CCT] — to correct these traditional and historical inequalities." The forum is a pre-program briefing for the "Pathways to High and Inclusive Growth" slated this Friday. The conference is headlined by Andrés Hijuelos of the Ministry of Social Development in Mexico, who will share his insights on the Latin American country's own CCT program — OPORTUNIDADES — which has been in place in Mexico for the past 15 years. — VS, GMA News