Former House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano on Wednesday lamented the non-inclusion of the 10K Ayuda in the proposed P5.024-trillion national budget for 2022.
According to Cayetano, there is a need to provide Filipino families with P10,000 for at least a period of three years, especially now that the national budget is larger by P500 billion compared with the past year.
“May nagtatanong sa’kin, kung kaya ba natin ito. Kaya po…We only need P150-200 billion, sobra-sobra na po iyon for all the Filipino families,” Cayetano said in a Facebook livestream on September 15, ahead of his Sampung Libong Pag-asa program.
(I was asked whether or not it is possible to implement this measure. It is possible. We only need P150-P200 billion, which is even in excess of what all Filipino families need.)
“Kung kaya, nandyan, kung gusto, yun ang question mark,” Cayetano added.
(We can do it, but whether the government wants to, that’s the question.)
In order to convince Congress to heed the call of the people to provide a substantial stimulus package, Cayetano and his allies in the Balik sa Tamang Serbisyo (BTS) sa Kongreso are focusing on creating programs such as the Sampung Libong Pag-asa initiative which provides P10,000 cash assistance to Filipino families affected by the pandemic.
Cayetano similarly called on fellow citizens to become more proactive in making known to Congress what its constituents need.
“Let’s push the government to take the lead. We support the government, but of course, that doesn’t come with our silence,” he said.
Sampung Libong Pag-asa
As displaced workers continue to receive the P10,000 financial stimulus from Cayetano and his group, they turn to small businesses as their new source of income.
Jeffrey Osanias, formerly a promotional merchandiser in Muntinlupa, was chosen as a beneficiary on August 18. Since then, he has used P5,000 to invest more for his tapsilog business, spent P3,000 for milk and groceries, and used P2,000 to pay for water and electricity.
“Hindi na po kami nangangamba gawa nang nakakakuha na kami ng pang-araw-araw na pagkain dito sa silugan dahil sa tulong ni Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano,” Osanias said.
(We are no longer worried because we are able to get daily food here because of the help of Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano.)
Osanias used to earn P800-P900 daily from his business. After improving his tapsilog business, he now earns P1,500-P2,000 daily and expressed his gratitude for Cayetano’s 10K Ayuda.
“Wag susuko sa pagsubok sa buhay, nandyan naman si God hindi tayo pababayaan,” he said.
(We should not give up because of the trials of life, God is there to help us.)
As of September 13, the total number of Sampung Libong Pag-asa beneficiaries stood at 10,458.
