President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Sunday pledged to improve the distribution of government aid to beneficiaries, particularly senior citizens, and urged Filipinos to share their concerns and suggestions with the government.
In his latest “BBMVLOG 278: Sagot sa Polisiya,” Mr. Marcos stressed that national government programs must not be used for political gain and called for more efficient, digitally enabled delivery of assistance.
“Basta’t ito ay mga programa ng national government. Ang mga speech at iba pang pang-epal bago ng distribution, hindi na pupuwede ‘yan. Hindi puwedeng gamitin ang government services sa pamumulitika o pag-promote ng sarili,” he said.
(As long as these are national government programs, speeches and other publicity before distribution will no longer be allowed. Government services cannot be used for politicking or self-promotion.)
Mr. Marcos said assistance funds should not be used for political promotion and that speeches or unrelated activities should be removed from aid distribution.
He cited a Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) memorandum circular and provisions of the General Appropriations Act (GAA), noting that existing rules prohibit using government services for personal political promotion.
“Nakasaad na po ito sa DILG Memorandum Circular at kabilang rin sa provision ng GAA kung paano dapat gamitin ang pondo ng bayan. Bawal na po sa distribution ng tulong na nanggaling sa national government,” he added.
(This is already stated in the DILG Memorandum Circular and is also included in the GAA provisions on how public funds should be used. The distribution of aid from the national government must not be used for political promotion.)
Under the government’s Anti-Epal policy, officials are barred from displaying their names, faces, logos, or initials on public projects or properties funded by taxpayers.
The President also highlighted efforts to digitize aid distribution to improve speed and efficiency, possibly through digital payment platforms such as GCash. He said some local government units have begun testing similar systems.
“Dapat tingnan pa rin ng mga local government unit ang modelong ito. Aralin ang sistema at unti-unting ma-implementa. Basta’t sa national government nanggaling ‘yan, mabilis na. ‘Di ka na kailangan makinig sa mahabang speech ng mga pulitiko,” Mr. Marcos said.
(Local government units should study this model and gradually implement it. As long as it comes from the national government, distribution will be quicker and people will no longer need to listen to long speeches from politicians.)
The latest vlog follows BBMVLOG 276, in which the President encouraged the public to submit policy suggestions to help address urgent national issues.
He also invited citizens to share their proposals in the comments section, noting that policies reflect the country’s culture and can help tackle its challenges.
