Gov't to spend P70 billion for CCT until 2015

CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga ,Philippines  — Budget Secretary Florencio Abad reported here yesterday that the Aquino administration would invest P70 billion in the conditional cash transfer (CCT) program until 2015.

Abad also asked for the support of civil society groups to lobby Congress for the annual funding for the CCT program that gives cash subsidies to the poorest of the poor.

Abad spoke before a three-day gathering here of 135 civil society groups helping the government implement the CCT program, also called the Pantawid Pa- milyang Pilipino program nationwide.

“The Aquino administration is banking heavily on the CCT program so it must succeed. It’s a flagship program for the administration,” Abad said.

He said there are some criticisms and apprehensions among some members of Congress about the program.

“Some politicians understand the program because of their insights into their areas, but there are some who think of it as (a program of) competitors and they want the program halted or they want it to fail,” he said.

Abad assured critics that Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman, who leads the CCT implementation, has no plan to run for senator amid the extensive reach of the program all over the country.

“Some critics of Dinky say she will run for senator, but I am happy she has no such plan. It’s not good to mix it with politics or the flow of the program will be affected,” Abad said.

Abad said that aside from helping the poorest families survive and later become financially independent, the CCT program was also designed to remove the influence of patronage politics, particularly among poor citizens.

“Some see the program’s long term effect on people who would cease to be lured by political patronage based on dependency relationship, especially during elections. If the program becomes permanent and the lives of people improve, these people become less dependent,” he noted.

Abad said President Aquino sees the CCT program as a means to provide the poorest Filipino families with a “salbabida” or lifeline towards financial independence.

“All Cabinet members are aware of the CCT program in the context of the entire Aquino government programs. Its success will also be the success of the economy, as this will lead to the growth of the domestic market,” he said.

Abad noted that for 2012, the government would need up to P39 billion to implement CCT with its 2.3 million family-beneficiaries.

“The entire project would cost about P70 billion for three million beneficiaries on the fifth year, which would be about three percent of the national budget projected at that time to be at P2.4 trillion,” he added.

He said that “if the three million (beneficiaries) speak out, Congress will listen, but they haven’t spoken out yet.”

The Aquino administration wants to reduce the country’s 33 percent poverty incidence to only 16.6 percent by 2016 through the CCT program.

“If the CCT continues as a bridge towards quality jobs, we could target that by the end of President Aquino’s term, poverty incidence would only be 16.6 percent from the present 33 percent,” Abad said.

He cited the case of Brazil where a program similar to the CCT reduced poverty incidence by 15 percent after three years, although he noted that the Brazilian government spent five to six percent of its gross domestic product (GDP).

“In our case, it will only be about three percent of our total budget,” he said.