‘Pito-pito X 4’ and new rides

When Filipinos mention the term “pito-pito,” it generally refers to a local plant or herb believed to have medicinal value. But for people in politics and Congress, “pito-pito” also refers to congressional funds or allocations where participating members of Congress allegedly receive the following:

• P7 million that goes to their MAIP or Medical Assistance to Indigent Patients;

• P7 million for their TUPAD budget or the Tulong Pang hanap buhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/ Displaced Workers.

• P7 million for AICS or Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations.

The MAIP is a program of the Department of Health and presumably is one of the channels used by members of Congress to provide medical-financial assistance to indigent constituents by issuing letters of guarantee or endorsements to government hospitals and the DSWD.

The TUPAD project is under the Department of Labor and Employment that is essentially a short-term job generation program enlisting unemployed housewives and unemployed barangay residents by employing them as streetsweepers. Again, members of Congress can influence the program and boost their reputation by channeling additional “unprogrammed funds” to it.

Meanwhile, the AICS or Assistance to Individuals in Crisis fund is one of the many assistance programs channeled through the DSWD where part of the “pito-pito” program can be directed by each congressman.

All participating or invited members of Congress who attend “sorties” led by House leaders in various provinces are blessed or rewarded with the “pito-pito” or P21-million fund assistance to their favorite programs. Furthermore, the participants can join or be invited to a maximum of four sorties or provincial visits and take home an annual jackpot of P84 million in government assistance. Multiply that by 316 members and that’s easily several billion pesos!

When I first heard of it, I actually ignored it. Then I started to hear about it from local officials, and then from people in Congress. Finally, I got curious after Senator Imee Marcos fought off the proposed AKAP program or Ayuda sa Kapos ang Kita Program, where P33 billion of unprogrammed funds was suspected to have been inserted by the House of Representatives in the 2025 budget.

One congressional source justified the “pito-pito” practice as “legal” and “part of bringing government agencies closer to the people” since seven different agencies are used as the channels of benefits during the sorties, as well as directly funding the congressional district of invitees.

One congressman confessed to his staff of attending the “sorties” because his constituents need the funds and benefits and if the only way to get an additional P84 million of unprogrammed funds is to join the event, then why not. On the other hand, critics of the “road show pa-bongga” label it as covert vote buying, where government services become a tool for making congressmen look like benevolent patrons while using taxpayers’ money.

The very timing of the programs, particularly the TUPAD street cleaning program in every barangay, appears like a carbon copied program of the Arroyo administration that was also “operated” a year or less before elections. Why, they ask, is the allocation and release of the “pito-pito X 4” dependent on invitation and participation?

What is the real motive behind the sorties? Is it really to bring government closer to the people or force legislators to be loyal to those who lead and control both Congress and its budget? That is the P84-million question!

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As a former motoring journalist, I am very curious to know who will be tapped, invited or will win in an upcoming bidding for new vehicles intended for the re-fleeting of the Department of Health.

Word has gotten around the block that certain officials have been working hard on the DOH re-fleeting project and are hoping to include a couple of high-end vehicles such as the much-coveted Land Cruiser or Prado to make travel more comfortable for senior DOH officials. That might be a quicker deal than the rumored “commission” that a member of the Kamag-Anak Inc. is reportedly brokering.

But in order to do that, the acquisition would have to be done as part of a department re-fleeting program that could be substantially profitable and prestigious for the winning bidder. If the winning bidder hits it big, throwing in a free LC or two outside of the package or outside the DOH compound would be chump change. It has happened before in other departments and agencies, so it can happen again.

Many former and current DOH employees and professionals are sharing info due to their lingering trauma at the DOH after the controversial and unresolved Pharmally anomaly, as well as the performance or activities of Department of Budget and Management-Procurement Services that were flagged by the Commission on Audit and criticized by the media during the COVID pandemic.

Career executives as well as employees at the DOH have not recovered from the embarrassment they had to live with resulting from the anomalous or questionable purchases during the pandemic. In recent times, many are also silently fuming that P11.2 billion worth of drugs and vaccines were left to expire. A handful have even opted for early retirement rather than be involved in risky transactions and end up being the “fall guy.”

Given all these concerns, the senior officials of the DOH should handle the re-fleeting process with utmost care, transparency and integrity. Believe me, word gets around in the automotive industry and especially among motoring journalists. In fact, several now retired police generals are still being hounded for a similar activity, where competitor brands complained to the media and provided cost comparisons and bids.

Given how the DOH wasted P11.2 billion in meds and vaccines, the worst thing is to purchase new rides!