Home Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez | PHOTO: Official Fb web page of the Home of Representatives of the Philippines
LEGAZPI, Albay — Speaker Martin Romualdez has urged “some senators” opposing the Ayuda sa Kapos ang Kita Program (Akap) to speak to the individuals in order that they will perceive its significance.
“Sure, we heard that some individuals within the Senate don’t perceive [Akap’s huge impact] as a result of they hardly ever have interaction with the individuals,” he advised journalists in Filipino on the sidelines of the Bagong Pilipinas Serbisyo Truthful on Thursday.
“That’s why we’re right here visiting provinces and attending the Bagong Pilipinas Serbisyo Truthful. Over two dozen provinces have been visited … We noticed that the individuals right here need this program,” he added.
READ: Home insists on ‘ayuda’ Senate desires to defund
Romualdez urged senators to “transfer round and ask the individuals what applications they need” in order that they’d know their sentiments after which requested his viewers in the event that they needed Akap, which suggests “embrace” in Filipino.
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“In order that I can inform my pals within the Senate that they need to cease reducing the price range for Akap, which is known as a large assist for the individuals, and it is rather standard,” he added.
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Risk to defund
Romualdez made the remarks after the Senate committee on finance advisable the elimination of Akap funds from the proposed 2025 nationwide price range, as acknowledged within the Senate’s committee report on Home Invoice No. 10800, or the Home model of the 2025 Normal Appropriations Invoice.
The chair of the Home’s price range committee, Ako Bicol occasion record Rep. Elizaldy Co, mentioned they’d push for the reinstatement of the P39-billion allocation for Akap through the congressional bicameral convention on the price range.
“We will’t enable the administration’s most important socialized program to vanish,” he mentioned in an announcement. “Till these households earn no less than P45,000 per particular person month-to-month, Akap stays important.”
Co mentioned Akap offers a one-time P5,000 money assist to near-poor people incomes P23,000 or much less and it’s the authorities’s most important amelioration program.
“Our individuals want Akap now greater than ever. We is not going to enable this important program to be dismantled with no battle,” he added.
Constructive criticism
Different lawmakers, together with Ako Bicol occasion record Rep. Raul Angelo Bongalon, mentioned they had been open to criticism, nevertheless it needs to be constructive.
“I’d recommend and I’d admire it if the criticism would assist the federal government on methods to enhance this system. As a result of for me, personally, I go to our area, our province, and I see that this system helps individuals,” Bongalon mentioned in a separate interview.
“If there’s a transfer to criticize this system, possibly we should always criticize within the sense that we should always enhance this system, to not the purpose that it will likely be completely eliminated, as a result of our individuals will undergo,” Bongalon added.
“What we’re doing is we’re simply giving again the rightful share of those people, who’re additionally paying taxes,” he mentioned.
A lot controversy has surrounded Akap since Home leaders conceptualized it for the 2024 nationwide price range.
Sen. Imee Marcos, Romualdez’s cousin, claimed that the P26.7-billion insertion for Akap has “defunded billions of pesos in pensions for retired army and uniformed personnel in addition to authorities staff.”
However Marcos later mentioned she was unaware whether or not funds had been diverted to Akap.
On the similar time, Home Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr. mentioned Marcos was one of many senators who signed the web page containing the Akap provisions within the 2024 Normal Appropriations Finances’s committee report.
Deputy Majority Chief and ACT-CIS occasion record Rep. Erwin Tulfo mentioned he considered the Akap when he was nonetheless secretary of the Division of Social Welfare and Growth.
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Tulfo mentioned he had noticed that middle-class staff are sometimes uncared for or left behind in most authorities assist applications as a result of the federal government has been centered on implementing measures to assist the poor.