TUCP solon on P200 monthly subsidy: Anong mabibili mo?

LILOAN, Cebu - A lawmaker on Friday said the P200 monthly subsidy for poor families amid the increasing fuel prices was too small.

At the sidelines of the inauguration of the BBM-Sara UniTeam headquarters, Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) party-list Representative Raymond Mendoza questioned the amount, saying it was not even enough to buy basic needs like food.

“‘P200 ano ba ‘yan, P6? What is P6.50 ano mabili mo? Itlog I think is P10 'di ba? Magkano itlog ngayon? Ano mabili mo with P200?” Mendoza asked.

(P200? What’s that? What can you buy with that? The price of an egg is I think P10. What can you buy with P200?)

“Masyadong maliit ang P200 but ang importante din at least the poorest of the poor in the Philippines mayroon silang pantawid, ang problema ngayon ‘yung minimum wage workers, ‘yung ordinary workers, walang pantawid eh,” he added.

(The P200 is too small but the important thing is at least the poorest of the poor have the Pantawid [Pamilyang Pilipino Program]. The problem is the minimum wage workers.)

President Rodrigo Duterte approved the P200 monthly aid for poor households for an entire year amid the hike in oil and basic good prices.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez admitted that the amount could not be enough but it was what the government could offer at present.

Qualified beneficiaries could receive the aid beginning this month.

The TUCP had appealed for a P470 increase in Metro Manila’s daily minimum wage, bringing it to P1,007. — DVM, GMA News