DAPAT umanong magpaliwanag at managot si Sen. Imee Marcos sa ginawa nitong pagtapyas nito ng P13 bilyong pondo para sa Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) para sa taong 2023, ayon kay Deputy Majority Leader at Tingog Partylist Rep. Jude Acidre.

Ginawa ni Acidre ang pahayag matapos na aminin ni Sen. Marcos na inirekomenda nito na bawasan ang pondo ng 4Ps na nasa ilalim ng Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) kaya nawalan ng ayuda ang halos 900,000 pamilya o katumbas ng 4.3 milyong indibidwal.

“Ang tanong d’yan kung tinanggal ‘yan, I don’t think the accountability of Sen. Marcos is simply by admitting that she was the one who removed that from the budget during the bicam. I think her accountability to her constituents is to also explain to them, ‘where did the money go,’” tugon ni Acidre sa isinagawang pulong balitaan sa Kamara de Representantes.

“Because this is not just a simple program, this is not (just) a project of the government. The 4Ps is the law, and as a law, we (as lawmakers) are duty-bound to implement it,” dagdag pa ng mambabatas.

Ayon kay Sen. Marcos, inirekomenda nito ang paglilipat ng P8 bilyong pondo ng 4Ps sa iba pang programa ng DSWD gaya ng supplemental feeding, KALAHI-CIDSS, Quick Response Fund para sa mga kalamidad, at AICS sa kasagsagan ng pagtalakay sa 2023 national budget noong 2022.

“The P5-billion AICS reduction, on the other hand, occurred after I had recommended the amount in the Senate version, but the bicameral removed it for lack of fiscal space post-Covid. Those two amounts – P8 billion plus P5 billion – are perhaps what some befuddled members are referring to,” saad sa pahayag na inilabas ni Sen. Marcos sa media.

Ayon kay Acidre marahil ay nakalimutan ng senadora na ang 4Ps ay hindi lang basta isang programa ng pamahalaan bagkus ay isang batas sa ilalim ng Republic Act (RA) No. 11310 o 4Ps Act.

“I think the good senator has also forgotten that 4Ps is not just a program of government. It is actually a law. In fact, sa implementation ng batas, ‘yun ‘yung may stages ng Listahanan 1, Listahanan 2. Hindi po ito arbitary (action) ng DSWD na gusto lang magkaroon ng 4Ps,” sabi ng kinatawan ng Tingog.

“Ito po ay ipinagkaloob sa mamamayan sa isang batas, na kami po bilang mga mambabatas, ay sana ho naisip namin na kailangan nating ipatupad, lalong-lalo na kung ang isang batas ay may layunin na pagandahin o magkaroon naman ng konting ginhawa ang ating mga kababayan,” wika pa nito Acidre.

Nauna rito, isiniwalat ni Ako Bicol Partylist Rep. Jil Bongalon, vice chair ng House Committee on Appropriations, na halos 900,000 pamilya o 4.3 milyong Pilipino Filipinos na kabilang sa pinakamahihirap ang hindi nakatanggap ng kanilang ayuda dahil tinapyasan ng P13 bilyon ang 4Ps.

“If we do the math, P13-billion divided by P15,000 per household per year, means 867,000 families or 4.3-million poor individuals got zero cash assistance from the DSWD’s 4Ps program last year, thanks to Sen. Imee,” sabi ni Bongalon.

“As vice chair of the Committee on Appropriations, I learned that it was Sen. Marcos – as head of the Senate finance sub-committee in charge of DSWD’s budget – who slashed P13-billion from the 4Ps budget. This left the most vulnerable sectors without financial aid last year, possibly until the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) receives its 2024 budget,” dagdag niya.

Ayon pa kay Bongalon, posibleng ‘tip of the iceberg’ pa lamang ang naturang P13 bilyong inilipat na pondo.

“I understand that Sen. Imee has been realigning significant portions of the 4Ps budget every year since 2021 but we’re still compiling the data,” dagdag pa ni Bongalon.