Coinciding with the resumption of session in Congress on November 8, youth and worker-led groups organized a protest in front of the Senate Complex in Pasay City to demand for a P 10,000 cash aid and pandemic assistance to those who have been affected by the current COVID-19 health crisis.
The protest was also held ahead of the scheduled deliberations for the proposed P 5.024-trillion 2022 national budget, following the transmission of House Bill (HB) 10153 or the 2022 General Appropriations Act (GAA) from the House of Representatives on October 25. The Senate is expected to finalize its version of the GAA by November 25.
Ayuda Network demanded for the support and urgent passage of key pieces of legislative bills on pandemic assistance that are still pending for approval in Congress.
These included HB 9089 which seeks to provide Php 10,000 for poor and low-income families that have been affected by economic shifts and disasters amid the pandemic.
HB 7909 aims to grant paid pandemic leaves, benefits, security of tenure, and welfare protection to employees, regardless of status.
HB 9494 that could provide students facing financial problems with a one-time cash subsidy of P 10,000, as well as suspended increase in tuition and other fees, waived loans and unpaid balances.
Aside from the above proposed laws, the groups are also calling for the defunding of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and re-channeling of its funds to basic health and social services.
As stated in HB 10153, NTF-ELCAC will be allotted P 29.2 billion, which is P 11 billion higher than in the previous year.
Nida Mangubat, spokesperson for Ayuda Network, pleaded to senators to address their concerns while re-telling the shared experiences of those who are struggling to make ends meet during the pandemic.
“Ang mga drayber, mga pamilya, wala nang panggastos. Inaagaw na lang po namin sa konting kakarampot na kinikita ng mga drayber ang pansaing namin, hinahabol na lang namin. ‘Yun pong iba ay napapalayas na sa kanilang mga tirahan. Sana po naman ay mapukaw na ang inyong pusong natutulog diyan. Ito po ang kahilingan namin, tulungan niyo kaming lahat,” Mangubat said.
[Drivers, their families, they no longer have money to spend. We just get from the little they earn the rice we cook, we just try to meet this need. Others have been expelled from their homes. We hope your hearts will be awakened. Our wish is that you help all of us.]
Celso, a member of a workers’ group, remarked how the funding that is supposed to be for basic services ends up in corruption, referring to the still ongoing probes on the pandemic fund use anomalies.
“Marami pong inutang ang estadong ito upang ipang-puno, kuno, sa mga pagkukulang sa serbisyo sa mamamayan, subalit nakikita po natin na ito ay napupunta lamang sa pangungurakot ng ilang ahensya ng ating gobyernong ito,” he said.
[The state loaned a lot of money to fill in the gaps in service for the people, but we see how this just ended up in corruption.
Meanwhile, representing the Student Aid Network, Spokesperson Kej Andres enumerated the numerous woes of students and families amid the current implementation of the remote learning setup.
“Tumataas ang gastusin ng mga estudyante at mga magulang dahil ang mga pamilya ngayon ay napipilitan pang gumastos para sa dagdag na gadget at para sa dagdag na internet load na kung saan napakasalat naman ang ibinibigay ng pamahalaan,” Andres explained.
[Expenses continue to rise and parents and families are forced to spend on additional gadgets, additional internet load since what the government provides is not enough.]
