TAGUIG CITY, July 23, 2020 — Residents and local leaders of Caloocan City on Friday backed former House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano’s call for the government to institutionalize the proposal to provide P10,000 in cash aid to every Filipino family.
“Isa po ako sa mga nananawagan din sa mga Congressman na sana po ay ipagkaloob niyo na po na maaprubahan y’ung 10K Ayuda para sa bawat pamilya po,” Morena Mallorca Rozario, a vendor of Filipino delicacies and a beneficiary of the program, said during the 12th edition of the Sampung Libong Pag-asa program which was held in Caloocan City on July 23.
(I join the people who are calling on Congressmen to finally approve the 10K Ayuda per family.)
A total of 300 families from the three districts of the city received P10,000 in cash assistance each.
The program, which was launched on May 1, is part of Cayetano and his allies’ campaign to pass the 10K Ayuda Bill, which aims to provide each Filipino family with P10,000 in cash aid amid the ongoing pandemic.
The bill, which was filed on February 1, was procedurally considered under the House-approved Bayanihan 3 but the P10,000 per family provision was not adopted.
Rozario said she spent half of her cash aid on her family’s food and the other half on her business.
From a daily profit of P150, she said she is now earning P600 a day.
She said the P10,000 in cash aid was the “answer to all of my problems.”
Seeing the effect of the P10,000 in cash aid in the lives of his constituents, Caloocan City 2nd District Rep. Edgar Erice pledged his continued support for the program.
“Ito y’ung tunay na pagbangon ng ating bansa — sa pamamagitan ng pagbibigay ng pagkakataon y’ung mga simple, ordinaryo, mga naghihikahos na pamilya na makabangon din sa dulot ng pandemyang ito,” Erice said.
(Our country will truly recover by giving the simple, ordinary, and struggling families a chance to get back up from the effects of this pandemic.)
He said he hopes more members of the private sector and especially the government will see its benefit.
“Ang tunay na pag-unlad ng isang bansa ay kung mas maraming pamilya y’ung umuunlad. At makakabangon lang tayo sa pandemyang ito kung mas maraming pamilya y’ung makakabangon. At itong 10K ayuda na ito ang makapagpapabangon sa mas maraming pamilya,” he said.
(Real development of a nation is about more families experiencing development. And we can only recover from this pandemic if more families recover. The 10K Ayuda is what will help more families rise back up.)
Councilor Alexander Mangasar of District 2 urged his constituents to be wise in spending their aid so they will be able to multiply it.
“Itong 10K Ayuda (event) ay simula pa lang. Sana ay maaprubahan na para mas marami pa ang mag-benepisyo,” Mangasar said.
(This 10K Ayuda event is only the beginning. I hope the bill gets approved so more people can benefit from it.)
Cayetano, for his part, urged the public to call for the direct stimulus’ passage by
sending messages through the official social media pages of the Congress, the Senate, and the Office of the President.
“Ang gobyerno po ay nakikinig sa tao. Ilang beses na po naming na-experience ito sa iba’t ibang administrasyon na kapag ang tao nagsalita, ang gobyerno ay susunod,” Cayetano said.
(The government listens to its people. We have experienced that many times during different administrations — that if the people speak up, the government would obey.)
Cayetano said the P10,000 in cash aid per family must be included in the country’s plan for the next three to five years.
To date, his initiative has distributed cash aid to nearly 7,000 Filipinos.###
