As the Sampung Libong Pag-asa program was paused on Monday in keeping with Comelec campaign guidelines, former House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said he will continue to call on government to provide direct cash assistance to every Filipino family to help them recover from the effects of the pandemic.
“Patuloy pa rin nating kinakalampag ang gobyerno upang gawan ng paraan ang pagpapatupad ng malawakang stimulus program katulad ng 10K Ayuda,” Cayetano said at the program’s finale on February 7, 2022.
(We continue to urge the government to pave the way for the implementation of a comprehensive stimulus program such as 10K Ayuda.)
The Sampung Libong Pag-asa program started as an initiative to aid Filipinos families affected by the pandemic while the 10K Ayuda Bill which he and his allies filed on February 1, 2021 was still pending in the House of Representatives.
Cayetano started the program on May 1, 2021 to show the government that P10,000 can go a long way to help speed up the country’s recovery from the effects of the pandemic.
“Marami sa naghihirap ngayong pandemic ay definitely hindi tamad o kaya yung sasabihin na walang ginagawa para iangat ang kanyang pamilya. Tinamaan lang talaga ng COVID. Nakikita natin na naghihirap ang mga kababayan natin, so gusto natin tumulong,” Cayetano said.
(Most of the people suffering during this pandemic are definitely not lazy or doing nothing to support their families. They were just hit by COVID. We can see that they are struggling, so we want to help them.)
Darwin T. Candia, a former Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW), said the P10,000 he received helped him build a business.
“Y’ung sampung libo malaking tulong iyon pati sa mga ibang kasama ko. Noong matanggap ko ang sampung libo, bago pa lang na matanggap ko, may plano na ko na dito sa negosyo kong babuyan,” he said.
(The 10,000 was a big help for me and the people around me. Even before I received it, I already had a plan for my piggery business.)
Cayetano’s livelihood program saw no boundaries as it aided Filipinos from various sectors and areas of the Philippines – OFWs, single parents, farmers and fisherfolk, displaced workers, frontliners, and more.
“Twenty-five years na akong nananagat. Nagpapasalamat ako sa ayuda, nakatanggap ako ng P10,000 para makapagpalit ng lambat. Minsan nakakahuli ako ng madami, nakaka-4,000 ako,” fisherman Jose Laurenio said, explaining how a 10K investment made it easier for him to earn.
(I have been fishing for 25 years. I am thankful for the financial aid because the P10,000 helped me buy a new net. Sometimes, when I catch a lot, I earn P4,000.)
The program has emphasized the importance of direct aid not only for the beneficiaries but also the entire Philippine economy, but Cayetano said it is only the government that has the resources to reach every family.
