Senator-elect Alan Peter Cayetano on Wednesday urged the newly elected officials of San Pascual, Batangas to take their own initiatives in helping the people, saying this is what he and his wife Mayor Lani Cayetano did in Taguig City.
“Ang ginawa po namin ni Lani, hindi na namin hinintay na y’ung gobyerno pa ang magpasa ng batas o kumilos magbigay ng sampung libo,” Cayetano said during the oath-taking ceremony of officials of San Pascual, Batangas.
“Sa aming sarili pong effort, more than 14,000 po ang nabigyan ng sampung libo(ng piso) through our (private) donors. Kami na po mismo ang humingi ng tulong (para) sa aming mga kababayan. Pero syempre po, hindi kakayanin mabigyan lahat ng pamilyang Pilipino kung doon natin dadaanin sa private,” he added.
Cayetano was referring to the Sampung Libong Pag-asa program which distributed P10,000 in direct cash aid to select families at the height of the pandemic.
The program started on May 1, 2021 as an initiative to aid Filipino families while the 10K Ayuda Bill which he and his allies filed on February 1, 2021 was still pending in the House of Representatives.
The program was paused in February in accordance with Comelec guidelines for the May elections.
Aside from more than 14,000 beneficiaries of the Sampung Libong Pag-asa Program, Cayetano cited the initiatives of the City Government of Taguig in reaching out to its citizens.
“Sa Taguig po lahat ng gumraduate ng high school may certificate na P15,000 at pwede dagdagan hanggang 50,000 kaya yung scholar po namin sa Taguig sa college ay lumalagpas na po ng 40,000 students,” he said.
“Lahat ng teacher at police ay pwede magmasteral. Ngayon po sa aming siyudad, nakalista na rin po ang lahat ng mga may maintenance na gamot at ‘yan po ay dinedeliver po sa kanilang bahay,” he added.
Cayetano also reiterated his call for a faith-based and values-oriented leadership especially to the newly-elected officials in the country.
“Hindi natin kontrolado ang challenges na tinatapon sa atin. Pero kontrolado natin kung ano magiging aksyon at response natin. Marami pong pera sa Pilipinas. Ang kailangan lang natin ay faith and hope,” he said.
