Hunger incidence is evidence of CCT failure -Ilagan
Gabriela Women’s Party Representative Luz Ilagan recently said the recent SWS survey indicating increased hunger is evidence that the Aquino administration’s Conditional Cash Transfer program is a failure. “It is high time for the Aquino administration to rethink its Conditional Cash Transfer program and in its stead, implement a more sustainable poverty alleviation program that will address the growing hunger and poverty among Filipinos.”
The Gabriela solon likewise said poverty and hunger surveys should help guide Malacanang and the DSWD in the creation of its proposed budget for 2013. The budget call for 2013 has officially commenced and various departments are expected to submit their proposal for the 2013 budget in the first quarter of this year.
Ilagan further said that it has been four years since the CCT was first implemented under the Arroyo administration, yet this has not resulted to any significant improvement in the lives of poor Filipino families.
“The undeniable fact remains that more Filipinos are poor. The Aquino government should cut if not totally forego spending for the CCT. Let us stop wasting billions in taxpayers’ money for a failed anti-poverty program. Instead, this should be realigned to the delivery of direct social services such as health, housing and education.”
Ilagan notes that in 2009, the National Statistical Coordination Board said that 26.5 M Filipinos survive on less than P41 per day. This data further increased to 27.6M in 2010. Late last year, methodologies in the computation of the poverty rate were conveniently adjusted thus the poverty rate was pegged at 26.5% which translates to 23.1M poor Filipinos. Has this not been manipulated, the old methodology would reveal 28.5M poor Filipinos in 2011.
The recent SWS survey conducted in December of 2011 revealed that 22.5% of the respondents claimed to have experienced having nothing to eat, up slightly from September’s 21.5%.
FOR REFERENCE:
Rep. Luz Ilagan 0920-9213221
Jang Monte (Public Information Officer) 0917-4049119
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