TWO legislators have asked the government to increase the cash aid or financial assistance given to families of poor beneficiaries under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).
Under House Resolution 184 of House Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan and Rep. Jonathan Abalos of 4Ps Partylist, they urged the National Advisory Council of 4Ps through the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) as it lead agency, to increase the amount of financial assistance amid the increasing “inflation rate” and the raging COVID-19 pandemic.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) have earlier reported that for the month of July, the country’s annual inflation rate have already reached 6.4 percent.
The congressmen added that there’s still the threat of monkeypox, the tension between Russia and Ukraine, and the calamities.
However, the 4Ps partylist solons did not mention any specific amount for the additional cash aid but said the amount should be at par with the inflation rate.
Libanan and Abalos explained that because of the current situation, it can be said that the current cash aid given to 4Ps beneficiaries may not be enough to achieve the objective of alleviating poverty.
Under the 2022 National Budget, the allocation for the provision of 4Ps cash grants will reach P99.1 billion.