RECENT surveys on hunger, although conflicting, send a strong message to members of the lawmakers to continue supporting the anti-poor programs of the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
House deputy majority leader Jude Acidre (Tingog party-list) and House assistant majority leader Mikaela Angela Suansing (Nueva Ecija, 1st District) made the statement citing the conflicting survey results on hunger from OCTA Research and SWS.
Acidre said one can look at the hunger surveys using the principle of the half-filled glass as OCTA declared there was a decrease in self-rated hunger from 14 percent in December to 11 percenr in March, while SWS said there was an increase in involuntary hunger from 12.6 percent to 14.2 percent covering the same period.
“You know if I was asked if I was hungry, I might have given a different answer, depending on who asked and when I was asked. I think it’s like looking at the glass half-full or half empty,” he said.
“I think one perspective, ‘yung sa OCTA, is that we’re on the right track, where all policies are all set toward ensuring that food is available for everyone, for all Filipinos. But the other survey is also telling us we are not there yet. There is still room for improvement. That’s the way I look at it,” he added.
Acidre said Congress should take its cue from these survey results and continue supporting the programs of President Marcos, several of which are through the initiative of Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, and crafting new ones to improve the delivery of government services to the people.
Suansing also agreed that the programs Acidre mentioned like the 4Ps, CARD and FARM have greatly aided Filipino citizens in battling hunger, and she added other programs like the Bagong Pilipinas Serbisyo Fair (BPSF), the ISIP for the Youth, and the SIBOL Program for small Filipino entrepreneurs.
“Kung susumahin po natin, bilyong-bilyong piso na po na ayuda ang ating naibibigay sa mga benepisyaryo ng BPSF. Bilyong-bilyong halaga ng AICS at TUPAD. Meron pa pong ilang mga programa na nakapaloob dito. Iyong isa po ay yung tinatawag na CARD, milyun-milyong kilo ng bigas na iyong naipamahagi,” said Suansing.
(If we add up, we have already given billions of pesos in aid to BPSF beneficiaries. Billions worth of AICS and TUPAD. There are some more programs included here. That one is the one called CARD, millions of kilos of rice that you have distributed)
“Daang libo na din po yung mga benepisyaryo nitong ISIP, CARD, SIBOL at FARM. At bukod pa po roon ay magsisimula narin ‘yung tinatawag natin na AKAP Program, kasi ‘yung mga near-poor families ay mabibigyan po ng P5,000 na one-time grant,” she added.
(The beneficiaries of ISIP, CARD, SIBOL and FARM are already hundreds of thousands. And in addition to that, what we call the AKAP Program will start, because the near-poor families will be given a P5,000 one-time grant)
She also mentioned Speaker Romualdez’s plan to have the Rice Tariffication Law amended to restore the mandate the National Food Authority (NFA) to flood the market with affordable rice, which will be within reach of the poor and influence market prices of rice.
