The Senate speaks?
| FRONTLINE |
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| Ninez Cacho-Olivares |
Frank Drilon, Liberal Party (LP) senator and finance committee chairman, speaks as though he is always speaking for the Senate, which is far from the truth.
Very recently, Drilon assured Noynoy Aquino that there will be no cuts in the P21-billion conditional cash transfer (CCT) program Malacañang has allocated in its proposed budget for Dinky Soliman’s Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). He also wondered why there is so much apprehension over the CCT program today, pointing out that this was a project of the Arroyo administration and that when this was proposed, there was no apprehension aired at all then.
The answer to this is simple. In the time of Gloria Arroyo, the CCT project did not have an allocation of P21 billion. Today, the CCT project under Soliman, who will be handling these funds, will have not just the big bucks all to her department and some, but also target some 3 to 4 million or so families, despite not having the infrastructure and safety nets set to ensure the success of the program.
As pointed out by Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo, Aquino’s CCT project targets are extremely difficult to implement, as it takes a long time to prepare the infrastructure and support systems, such as the health clinics, school buildings and other support systems, such as the training period especially for 4 million beneficiaries.
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Source: The Daily Tribune
URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20101109com3.html
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