Government urged not to use CCT for 2016 polls

MANILA, Philippines - The Aquino administration was urged yesterday not to use the P63-billion conditional cash transfer (CCT) program to promote the political plans of its candidates in the May 9, 2016 elections.

Former Quezon representative Danilo Suarez, an ally of Vice President Jejomar Binay, made the appeal on the eve of the expected announcement of President Aquino and the ruling Liberal Party that Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II would be the administration’s presidential candidate.

“The administration should suspend the implementation of the CCT program before next year’s elections. Of course, they could always advance the cash transfers,” Suarez told the
Usaping Balita forum at the Serye restaurant in Quezon City.

“There are more than four million CCT beneficiaries. If only half of those would vote for administration candidates, they will have a huge edge over their opponents,” he said.

Suarez, who has been accompanying Binay in his provincial visits, also said he believes that if the presidential contest next year were a one-on-one between his candidate and Roxas, “it will be a tight race.”

“If Sen. Grace Poe and other presidential wannabes join the race, I think the Vice President will have the advantage,” he said.

The CCT program gives monthly financial assistance to millions of households identified as belonging to the “poorest of the poor.” The Department of Social Welfare and Development is the program implementer.

Former national treasurer Leonor Briones told the same forum that beneficiaries of cash transfers tend to vote for administration candidates.

She said this was the finding of a Harvard researcher who studied the CCT program during the Arroyo administration.

“In areas where there were many families receiving financial assistance from the program, the voting result was a landslide for the administration. That shows you the impact of this program,” she said.

She also said the public should monitor how the P2.6-trillion 2015 national budget is being implemented.

“More than the proposed P3-trillion spending program for 2016, the 2015 outlay is the election budget,” she said.