Imee may pananagutan sa pagtapyas ng P13 billion 4Ps funds

MANILA, Philippines — Dapat umanong magpaliwanag at managot si Sen. Imee Marcos sa ginawa nitong pagtapyas ng P13 bilyong pondo para sa Pantawid Pamil­yang Pilipino Program (4Ps) para sa taong 2023, ayon kay Deputy Majority Leader at Tingog Partylist Rep. Jude Acidre.

Ginawa ni Acidre ang pahayag matapos na aminin ni Sen. Marcos na inirekomenda nito na bawasan ang pondo ng 4Ps na nasa ilalim ng Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) kaya nawalan ng ayuda ang halos 900,000 pamilya o katumbas ng 4.3 milyong indibidwal.

Ayon kay Acidre, ang 4Ps ay hindi simpleng programa lamang ng DSWD na puwedeng basta na lamang alisin at ilipat kung saan mang proyekto dahil isa itong batas na dapat ipatupad.

“Ang tanong d’yan kung tinanggal ‘yan, I don’t think the accountability of Sen. Marcos is simply by admitting that she was the one who removed that from the budget during the bicam. I think her accountability to her constituents is to also explain to them, ‘where did the money go,” ayon kay Acidre.

Ayon kay Sen. Marcos, inirekomenda nito ang paglilipat ng P8 ­bilyong pondo ng 4Ps sa iba pang programa ng DSWD gaya ng supplemental feeding, KALAHI-CIDSS, Quick Response Fund para sa mga kalamidad, at AICS sa kasagsagan ng pagtalakay sa 2023 national budget noong 2022.

“The PhP5-billion AICS reduction, on the other hand, occurred after I had recommended the amount in the Senate version, but the bicameral removed it for lack of fiscal space post-Covid. Those two amounts - PhP8 billion plus PhP5 billion - are perhaps what some befuddled members are referring to,” saad sa pahayag na inilabas ni Sen. Marcos sa media.

Ayon kay Ako Bicol Partylist Rep. Jil Bongalon, vice chair ng House Committee on Appropriations, posibleng ‘tip of the iceberg’ pa lamang ang naturang P13 bilyong inilipat na pondo.

“I understand that Sen. Imee has been realigning significant portions of the 4Ps budget every year since 2021 but we’re still compiling the data,” dagdag pa ni Bongalon.

Imee may pananagutan sa pagtapyas ng P13-B 4Ps funds

Joy Cantos

MANILA, Philippines — Dapat umanong magpaliwanag at managot si Sen. Imee Marcos sa ginawa nitong pagtapyas ng P13 bilyong pondo para sa Pantawid Pamil­yang Pilipino Program (4Ps) para sa taong 2023, ayon kay Deputy Majority Leader at Tingog Partylist Rep. Jude Acidre.

Ginawa ni Acidre ang pahayag matapos na aminin ni Sen. Marcos na inirekomenda nito na bawasan ang pondo ng 4Ps na nasa ilalim ng Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) kaya nawalan ng ayuda ang halos 900,000 pamilya o katumbas ng 4.3 milyong indibidwal.

Ayon kay Acidre, ang 4Ps ay hindi simpleng programa lamang ng DSWD na puwedeng basta na lamang alisin at ilipat kung saan mang proyekto dahil isa itong batas na dapat ipatupad.

“Ang tanong d’yan kung tinanggal ‘yan, I don’t think the accountability of Sen. Marcos is simply by admitting that she was the one who removed that from the budget during the bicam. I think her accountability to her constituents is to also explain to them, ‘where did the money go,” ayon kay Acidre.

Ayon kay Sen. Marcos, inirekomenda nito ang paglilipat ng P8 ­bilyong pondo ng 4Ps sa iba pang programa ng DSWD gaya ng supplemental feeding, KALAHI-CIDSS, Quick Response Fund para sa mga kalamidad, at AICS sa kasagsagan ng pagtalakay sa 2023 national budget noong 2022.

“The PhP5-billion AICS reduction, on the other hand, occurred after I had recommended the amount in the Senate version, but the bicameral removed it for lack of fiscal space post-Covid. Those two amounts - PhP8 billion plus PhP5 billion - are perhaps what some befuddled members are referring to,” saad sa pahayag na inilabas ni Sen. Marcos sa media.

Ayon kay Ako Bicol Partylist Rep. Jil Bongalon, vice chair ng House Committee on Appropriations, posibleng ‘tip of the iceberg’ pa lamang ang naturang P13 bilyong inilipat na pondo.

“I understand that Sen. Imee has been realigning significant portions of the 4Ps budget every year since 2021 but we’re still compiling the data,” dagdag pa ni Bongalon.