Alan Peter Cayetano files P10,000 cash aid bill

A bill seeking to provide a one-time P10,000 cash assistance to Filipino families amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the rising prices of fuel and basic commodities has been filed in the Senate.

Senator Alan Peter Cayetano on Monday revived the Senate version of his previous House bill in the 18th Congress.

Under the as yet-unnumbered proposed measure, Filipino families needing assistance will receive either a one-time financial aid of P10,000 or P1,500 per member, whichever sum is higher.

It will be coursed through the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), which will be tasked to lead the distribution through the “10K Ayuda Assistance Program” to be established under the legislation.

Among the eligible beneficiaries for the program are:

• Poorest of the poor
• Senior citizens
• Persons with disabilities (PWDs)
• Solo parents
• Displaced, retrenched or separated workers or those whose jobs have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic including freelancers, drivers of public transportation, owners of microenterprises, farmers, homeworkers such as family drivers and house keepers and sub-minimum wage earners
• Medical frontliners including Barangay Health Workers
• Families of Filipinos working abroad
• Filipino citizens with a Philippine National ID
• Those who were not able to avail the government’s previous social amelioration packages
• Other members of the vulnerable sectors

“The DSWD shall determine which other families that require assistance will be beneficiaries of the cash assistance program established under this Act,” said Cayetano.

Further, the proposed bill will mandate the DSWD to create, maintain and operate a telephone, hotline, website or a mobile application to effectively facilitate the rollout of the program, answer inquiries and receive complaints and grievances from the public and help disseminate information.

A separate hotline, meanwhile, will be dedicated to those with special needs including senior citizens and PWDs.

The funding for the program, according to the lawmaker, will be sourced from the annual General Appropriations Act.

As Taguig representative, Cayetano filed the House version of the legislation in February 2021, but it was not included in the Bayanihan 3 package.

In May 2021, he established the “Sampung Libong Pag-asa” program which gives financial assistance to targeted beneficiaries, but it was put on hold on February 7, 2022, in line with the campaign rules of the Commission on Elections. — BM, GMA News