Metro Manila, Philippines – Malacañang rejected Senator Alan Peter Cayetano’s claim that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. rejected his proposal to provide ₱10,000 in cash assistance to Filipino families, saying the measure failed to advance before Marcos assumed office.
Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said Cayetano first pushed the proposal as a member of Congress and blamed others when it failed to move forward.
“Itong panukalang 10 thousand pesos na ayuda sa bawat pamilya ay isinulong ito noong siya pa ay miyembro ng Kongreso… hindi pa po pangulo si Pangulong Marcos Jr. dito,” she said.
[Translation: The proposal to provide ₱10,000 in aid to every family was introduced when he was still a member of Congress… President Marcos Jr. was not yet president at the time.]
Castro cited Cayetano’s previous public statements in 2021 and 2022, in which he acknowledged that the proposal did not advance in Congress and was not included in the 2022 national budget.
She also noted that the lawmaker himself later described the measure as a legislative proposal.
“Kung wala pa po siyang nagagawa, wala pong masasabing ni-reject ang pangulo dahil wala po nga siyang nasisimulan,” the official said.
[Translation: If he has not yet accomplished anything, then it cannot be said that the President rejected it because he had not even started the process.]
Castro accused Cayetano of shifting responsibility for the proposal’s failure.
“Itong mga kahinaan ni Senator Alan Cayetano, kabagalan at kakulangan sa pagtupad sa kaniyang pangako ay huwag niya pong ipahid sa ibang tao. Akuin niya mismo kung ano ang kaniyang kakulangan,” she said.
[Translation: Senator Alan Cayetano’s shortcomings, delays and failure to fulfill his promise should not be blamed on others. He should take responsibility for his own shortcomings.]
She also took a swipe at Cayetano’s campaign promise.
“Huwag niya naman sanang gayahin iyong pangakong ala jet ski na pang kampanya lang,” Castro said.
[Translation: Let’s hope he does not end up making a jet ski-type campaign promise that remains only a campaign promise.]
Cayetano earlier said Marcos rejected his proposed ₱10,000 cash assistance after winning the 2022 presidential election despite the government’s ability to fund it.
The senator made the remarks after the administration announced the expansion of the United Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food and Transport (UPLIFT) program. He argued that the new cash assistance showed the government had long been capable of implementing his proposal.
Cayetano first filed the bill in July 2022. The measure remained pending at the committee level until the end of the 19th Congress in June 2025.
