Big budget for cash dole outs on an election year. That, it seems, is a lethal combination in the coming financial year ending 2013 when mid-term will be held. The “centrepiece” of President Benigno Simeon “BS” Aquino III’s poverty alleviation program, the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program is set to be allocated P45 billion if the budget for 2013 is approved. Gabriela Rep. Emmie de Jesus reportedly called the program, dubbed Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), a “growing monster of deception in the face of 2013 electoral spending.â€
“The Aquino administration has not proven any long-term positive impact of the CCT on the lives of its beneficiaries, so why increase the budget now? Isn’t it a suspicious coincidence that the proposed marked increase comes at a time when electoral spending will once again shoot up?†de Jesus asked.
According to The Economist, however, conditional programs actually work “because they are rules-based and relatively uncorrupt”. Furthermore…
Though the stipends are usually a pittance, they make a difference to the poorest because they are reliable—unlike the rest of the poor’s income. CCTs also help the next generation. By requiring children to have lessons and health checks, the programmes should make children better educated and healthier than their parents. Schemes in Bangladesh, Cambodia and Pakistan have all got more girls into education. That is good in itself and good for getting jobs.
| SUPPORT INDEPENDENT SOCIAL COMMENTARY! Subscribe to our Substack community GRP Insider to receive by email our in-depth free weekly newsletter. Opt into a paid subscription and you'll get premium insider briefs and insights from us. Subscribe to our Substack newsletter, GRP Insider! Learn more |
The key words here are, of course, rules-based and uncorrupt.
In a country such as the Philippines where the notion of being rules-based and uncorrupt tend to elicit more cynical snickers and less thoughtful reflection, the million dollar question is obvious: Do Filipinos have it in them to make a CCT program work?
The rules that govern dole outs under President BS Aquino’s program are quite simple…
The CCT provides poor families with at least three children below 14 years old cash aid of P500 to P900 if the kids are sent to school.
Each child who turns 14 automatically loses the P300 monthly stipend.
But according to a “a recent survey on self-rated hunger conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS)”, the Philippines in recent time has a greater proportion of self-described “hungry” people than ever. The survey conducted over the period fo the 10th through the 13th of March showed that incidence of hunger had increased from 22.5 percent to 23.8 percent since last December, 2011. For that matter…
According to the SWS, the hunger rate surpassed the highest record of 23.7 percent recorded in December 2008.
Could it be that we are seeing the Philippines is earning a distinction of being a country that may actually be defying generally accepted conclusions about the effectiveness of CCTs that no less than The Economist endorses? Perhaps if we look back at the Philippines’ track record of perverting otherwise noble ideas, we need not be too surprised…
We have a stand-out track record of dubious achievement resulting from our penchant for perverting otherwise great ideas:
Jeepneys. they were an adaptation to post-war conditions but they are now a grotesque and poignant reminder of our lack of foresight and dismal engineering prowess.
Democracy. We supposedly popularised “people power” but then twisted it into the farce that it is today (at least in our country). Our institutions are — our country itself is –democratically-constituted to the letter but they — we — do not execute democracy’s principles in spirit.
Religion. we are a famously church-going society – possessing an utter lack of secular ethic and tolerance that has no place in modern society. Our veneer of religiousness barely hides the decay of decency in the increasingly rotten core of our society.
…and most famously;
Christmas. We have earned the distinction of giving the greeting “Merry Christmas” a malicious and greedy ring to it.
Now we add conditional cash transfers to the above list.
The year 2013 is, after all, an election year. It is hard to imagine a government as desperate for Congressional support as BS Aquino’s being the stickler for rules and keeping itself uncorrupt while in custody of a wad of cash to the tune of 45 billion bucks.
As always,
Abangan ang susunod na kabanata.
[Photo courtesy TropicalPenPals.com.]
benign0 is the Webmaster of GetRealPhilippines.com.
showbizgovernment politician website is clearly GMA, MIKE, ABALOS, AND CJ CORONA. it does not even allow or provided for A SPACE for comment of the reader. very unfair. One-sided ka pore. whoever you are, no doubt your job is to destroy noynoy, and save GMA and the rest
GRP audience cannot compete with Pnoy arse-kissing MSM. Most of what is written here aren’t / will not be reported on air.
Can’t you tell the diff between a truth or a lie?
Hay isa na namang utak squatter na katulad ni pnoy: magbintang kahit inosente.
Translation: My moronic comments will not be allowed here.
sorry for the wrong spellings/words. just try to decipher the errors, my point is simple. If you are fair, SHOWBIZ should provide a SPACE FOR COMMENTS.
Too late, man. Too late. The damage has been done. 😛
Just to clarify some points, CCT is not PNoy’s program, in fact it began with GMA, it was part of the Philippines Medium Term Development Goals, supported by the World Bank, same with Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) which PNoy also claims as his own when he signed the agreement with Washington, just for info GMA prepared the ground work for this monumental project, it is frustrating that these projects, which PNoy or his administration has no hands in its conception, are now being used for political gains of the Aquino yellow mob!
Curious isn’t it? CCT program would normally be discarded by the King in Yellow because it is connected to GMA. Normally he would be discarding it, but it doesn’t seem to the case now. Very curious indeed…..
Regardless of who came up with the idea for the CCT, congressmen should out their heads together and analyze the goals and results of this program.
I think the program is prone to abuse.
cct may work in some countries, but i have very little optimism that it would work in ours primarily because of our culture and attitude. i remember hearing someone complain on the radio “napilitan mag-resign misis ko sa trabaho para lang makakuha ng cct.” wtf?!!!i was thinking “and we’re borrowing money for this?!!” apparently, he would rather get the free pittance than work and keep his dignity.
if bs really believes in this program, why doesn’t he just use his own 65B in unaudited intelligence fund? at least the money would go (allegedly) to the poorest of the poor, and not to the greediest of crocodiles in the congress and senate.
BenignO
Following are relevant urls on the CCT/4Ps program:
http://pantawid.dswd.gov.ph/
http://www-wds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2011/07/08/000333038_20110708021205/Rendered/PDF/628790BRI0Phil0me0abstract0as0no010.pdf
http://serp-p.pids.gov.ph/CPBRD/2011%20POLICY%20BRIEF_JULY2011_8.pdf
There’s also an interesting url concerning those handling (or those in charge of disbursing) the CCT “war” chest who are now on a “war” footing frenzy.
I refer you to this author-less (not even by someone “anonymous”) write-up below below which I think is the initial salvo by PNoy’s overly confident “war” planners directed at the NEXT logical target to destroy after disabling Corona–BINAY!
http://blogwatch.tv/2012/06/an-open-letter-to-vice-president-jejomar-binay/
But these guys should watch out for the sneaky counter-punch. Binay is a politician; Corona was not.
I wonder if the enlargement of the CCT program was done in order to provide more jueteng patrons.
http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20120618com1.html
It’s interesting to note that the president wants P45-B for next year’s CCT. Isn’t that too much?
http://www.tribune.net.ph/index.php/headlines/item/343-noy-wants-p45-b-cct-budget-for-poll-year
CCT is a program funded through loans from the World Bank, loans which taxpayers have to pay back eventually. No wonder, World Bank, the lender, endorses it with much enthusiasm?
Somebody has to start documenting. The moment this guy is out of office, the next government has to give this guy a dose of his own medicine. We have already seen countless abuse of power and misuse of people’s money.