A
novel way of making the poor as downright mendicants or beggars, a
creative way of the administration playing Santa Claus by generously
giving away public funds to its chosen private recipients, an
ultimately ingenious means of buying political patronage specially at
the supposed advent of elections – all these and other indefensible
factors are behind the so-called “CCT”
funded by a truly generous capital of 108.881 billion for 2015! This
dubious invention – though at first
perceived as love incarnate and care unlimited by the present
administration through the now likewise dubious DSWD – actually
raises more and more reasonable questions in all sincerity and
candor.
Following
then are some of the more relevant and serious questions asked and
heard behind the allegedly brilliant yet actually dubious idea of
freely giving away public funds to supposedly poor families: In the
first place, why is a family poor – because of indolence, due to
vice, on account of irresponsibility? How poor should a family be in
order to receive CCT? How regularly really do the poor families get
their CCT? Who says or determines that a family is really poor and
why? How long may a family remain poor in order to continue
receiving the CCT? How sure is it that every poor family really gets
the whole CCT amount although all the required receipts are signed?
Who is really watching if the recipient is actually and
faithfully living up to the conditions required by the Cash Transfer?
How long may a family remain poor, all month after month Cash
Transfers notwithstanding? When the present government is gone, will
CCT vanish therewith?
There
are more and more poor people in the Country – notwithstanding all
claims and allegations of Malacañang
to the contrary. The poor have the need and the right to get
financial help from Malacañang
that in effect has the “Power
of the Purse” and
that in truth also aims at holding the “Power
of the Pen”. But
there must be a much better way of helping the poor instead of giving
dole-outs or mere limos
to them. Not all poor people are beggars – all contrary ideas and
demeaning perceptions of Malacañang
to the contrary notwithstanding.
There
are basic Livelihood
Programs
which are rather easy to teach, to learn and to put up. There are
little Cooperative
Ventures
that are not difficult to study and operate. There are modest
Manufacturing
Enterprises that
need but practical knowledge and skills. This is but converting the
limos
into trabaho,
thus making the poor regain their legitimate dignity and pride.
Is
this too hard to understand?
