Department of Social Welfare and Development

Sen. Bam: Natatanggap ba ng mahihirap ang tulong pinansiyal ng gobyerno?

A senator urged the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to investigate whether the poorest of the poor families are benefiting from the government’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

Sen. Bam Aquino made the call after the Commission on Audit (COA) reported that around P1.3 billion were left unclaimed by 1.9 million individual beneficiaries in 2017.

In its audit report, the COA stressed that the lapse of time that beneficiaries failed to claim their grants showed that they were not in severe need of the subsidy, which cast doubt on the eligibility of the listed beneficiaries. 

 “Sa totoo lang, imoral iyong may pondo pero hindi naibabahagi sa mga kababayan nating naghihirap,” said Sen. Bam, who plans to file a resolution to ensure that the poorest of the poor benefit from the 4Ps program.

Sen. Bam suggested that the DSWD should review the list of beneficiaries under the 4Ps program to make sure that they belong to the poorest of the poor or are really in need of government assistance.

“Hindi tama na nakatengga lang ang pondo para sa tulong habang nalulunod na ang marami sa taas-presyo,” Sen. Bam stressed. “Sayang naman ang pondo na maaaring pakinabangan ng iba pa nating mahihirap na kabababayan.

Also, Sen. Bam renewed his call to the government to fully implement the social mitigating measures under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law.

As of now, the government has yet to complete the roll out of the unconditional cash transfer (UCT) program for poor Filipino families and the Pantawid Pasada Program, which aims to help jeepney operators and drivers cope with the increase in oil prices.

 “Ngayong lalong tumataas ang inflation rate, higit na kailangan ng ating mahihirap na kababayan ang tulong mula pamahalaan. Huwag na natin silang pag-antayin pa,” stressed Sen. Bam, one of four senators who voted against the ratification of the TRAIN Law.

In an effort to lower prices of goods, Sen. Bam has filed Senate Bill No. 1798 or the “Bawas Presyo Bill” to roll back and suspend the excise tax on fuel under the TRAIN Law when average inflation surpasses the annual inflation target over a three-month period.

Sen. Bam: Implement law, prioritize children in Lanao del Sur

Sen. Bam Aquino called on concerned government agencies to implement a law that prioritizes the welfare and safety of children during conflicts and disasters amid the ongoing clash between government troops and the Maute group in Marawi City.

 The senator was referring to the Republic Act 10821 or the Children’s Emergency Relief and Protection Act. He was the co-author of the measure during his time as chairman of Committee on Youth in the 16th Congress.

“Ang pinaka-kawawa talaga sa mga sakuna at labanan ay ang mga bata. We passed this law to ensure they are protected,” said Sen. Bam.

 “May mga batang nawawalan ng tahanan at may mga nakakasaksi sa karahasan. Alagaan natin sila, tiyakin na sila’y ligtas at ibigay ang lahat ng kanilang pangangailangan,” he added.

Sen. Bam said the Department of Social Welfare and Development is mandated by law to enforce an emergency program for children during disasters and conflicts.

  “We must ensure that this law is fully implemented as it prioritizes the children during these times of armed conflict,” Sen. Bam stressed.

 Sen. Bam made the pronouncement after the United Nations Children’s Fund reported that a child was killed while 50,000 have been displaced in the Marawi conflict.

 Republic Act 10821 provides utmost priority to children during and after every disaster as they are the most vulnerable and are worst affected during disasters such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and flash floods and areas of armed conflicts like Marawi City.

It also establishes child-centered training to disaster first responders, teachers, psychologists and other volunteers in disaster recovery, relief and rehabilitation, with special modules for different stages of children and youth development.

It mandates the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to formulate a Comprehensive Emergency Program for Children and local government units to integrate the said program in their development and Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (LDRRM) plans and budget.

 “The law also provides for immediately heightened comprehensive measures by DSWD and the AFP to protect women and children from sexual violence and abuse in the affected areas,” said Sen. Bam.

 

Senate Bill No. 694: Pagkaing Pinoy Para Sa Batang Pinoy Act

“You cannot feed the mind on an empty stomach.” This is a truth that millions of Filipinos know and feel all too well. Every day, millions of Filipino children trek to school, underfed and undernourished, yet expected to fully absorb the lessons of the day.

In a study called “The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2012”, conducted by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), a total of 16 million Filipinos were considered undernourished 2010 to 2012, even as the number of chronically undernourished people dropped in all other Southeast Asian countries. Despite our growing economy, there are more underfed people in the Philippines today than there were two decades ago.

Meanwhile, another recent study on “the role of early childhood nourishment and health in connection with human capital accumulation”, published by Dartmouth University in 2012, revealed that the long-term detrimental effects of childhood hunger have a greater impact on school children than the effects of substandard schooling, infrastructure, classrooms, and textbooks.

This is perhaps one of the main reasons why Filipino children continue to lag behind our Asian neighbors in standardized tests. How can we expect them to do well in school when we have not given their brains the proper nourishment and fuel for the tasks that lie ahead of them?

Thus, the proposed “Pagkaing Pinoy para sa Batang Pinoy” bill seeks to alleviate childhood malnutrition in the Philippines through a feeding program for infants, public kindergarten and elementary school children. It will promote the health of children who are most in need, by providing regular and free access to nutritious food within a safe and clean school and community environment.

The benefits of the bill do not end there. To enhance the social value of this proposed measure, the feeding program will utilize, when possible and available, locally- sourced and locally-produced food products in order also to support local farmers and farming communities, and thus provide direct support to local agricultural communities. By providing a regular market for the products of local farmers and small entrepreneurs, this feeding program will help address not only child malnutrition but also poverty in the countryside.

This bill will entail partnerships with the Department of Agriculture (DA), the Department of Health (DOH), the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the Department of Education (DepEd), and local government units.


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