Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 1, 2022) — Presidential aspirant Senator Panfilo Lacson slammed what he described as the problematic implementation of some laws and programs under the Duterte administration.
These include the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) and the Social Amelioration Program (SAP) under the Bayanihan: We Heal As One 1 and 2 (Bayanihan 1 and 2) Laws, and the Universal Health Care (UHC) Law.
In the case of TUPAD, the Partido Reporma standard bearer claimed it is being used by politicians for their campaign.
“Di ba dapat DOLE ang nagdi-distribute noon, government agency. E bakit binibigay sa congressmen? Yung mga kasama ko sa Senate, merong iba namimigay ng TUPAD. So ito ang dapat i-correct, sa implementasyon talaga e,” Lacson said in an interview over DWIZ.
[Translation: Shouldn’t DOLE be the distributor as a government agency? Why do they give it to congressmen? Some of my colleagues in the Senate are providing TUPAD. So the implementation should really be corrected.]
CNN Philippines is still trying to reach DOLE for comment.
Lacson also criticized the supposed problem with the distribution of SAP – or the government’s dole-out program during the pandemic.
He said the list used in its distribution was based on 2016 data.
“Yung mga walang hanapbuhay, yung mahihirap noong 2016, baka hindi na mahirap ngayon. Pero ang ginamit na datos nila, 5 years e. So what do you expect kung ganon? At yung may mga hanapbuhay noon, ngayon naman nawalan ng hanapbuhay, hindi kasama sa ayuda. So pagdating sa ground, yung mga barangay chairman, mga mayor na nakakausap namin, sila ang gumagawa ng remedyo,” the senator said.
[Translation: Those who were unemployed, poor in 2016, may no longer be poor now. But the data they used was from five years ago. So what do you expect? And those who had jobs then, but have lost their jobs now, are not included in the assistance program. So when it comes to the ground, barangay chairmen, the mayors we talked to, they make the remedy.]
As for the Universal Health Care Law, Lacson said the Duterte administration failed to implement it properly by not giving enough budget for its programs.
Based on the supposed timeline since the law was passed in 2019, Lacson said the government budget for its implementation should now be at ₱257 billion, and the hospital bed to population ratio must be at one is to 800.
According to the Health department, its proposed budget for UHC-related programs was only ₱59.15 billion.
“Na-stuck tayo ngayon sa low-cost kasi ayaw pondohan. May batas na nga, bakit ayaw pondohan kaya naman pondohan. Hindi namin maintindihan kung bakit,” Lacson said.
[Translation: We are now stuck in low-cost because we refuse to fund [these programs]. There’s already a law, why don’t you fund it when you have the means? We do not understand why.]
