Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano expressed support for simplifying access to government assistance but said this should be matched with long-term programs that allow small businesses and families to become self-sufficient.
Cayetano made this manifestation on Senate Bill No. 155, or the Simplified Government Aid Access Act, which seeks to streamline the distribution of government assistance and remove political influence from the process.
“Simplified access is critical in urgent situations such as medical emergencies and basic household needs where delays can worsen hardship.”
The Senate Minority Leader said simplified access is critical in urgent situations such as medical emergencies and basic household needs where delays can worsen hardship and where aid should reach beneficiaries without the need for political connections or intermediaries.
“If you look at Singapore, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, all of these countries have programs for micro and small entrepreneurs. Sa atin, ‘5-6’ pa rin,” the veteran legislator said, referring to informal lenders who charge exorbitant interest rates.
The seasoned lawmaker pointed out that large amounts are already allocated annually for financial assistance, which he said was the context behind his earlier proposal to provide a uniform amount of aid directly to families to cut red tape and speed up delivery.
“We have almost P200 billion in ayuda every year… Actually, it’s increased to more than P300 billion [already]. That’s why I proposed na bigyan na lang ng diyes mil diretso lahat because we can actually do it,” the senator said.
While supporting simplified aid access, he urged the Senate and the executive branch to work on medium- and long-term initiatives that lessen reliance on doleouts by strengthening entrepreneurship and self-reliance.
“Come up with programs that push for independence, creativity for small businesses, for people to take care of themselves, that will eventually shove out ‘yung mga doleouts natin.”
“While we support this bill and while this is a good endeavor, may I encourage all of us, especially sa Executive Department, to come up with programs that push for independence, creativity for small businesses, for people to take care of themselves, that will eventually shove out ‘yung mga doleouts natin,” Cayetano said.
He added that the same urgency shown in advancing simplified aid should also apply to measures that support entrepreneurship, access to capital, education, and health.
“It’s in my hope na kung gaano natin kabilis naipasa ang Senate Bill No. 155, ‘yung mga programa sa entrepreneurship, puhunan, kapital, mga pondo para sa edukasyon at kalusugan, maipasa [rin] natin agad,” Cayetano said.
He is the principal sponsor of the landmark E-Governance Law (Republic Act No. 12254) which enhances government efficiency, streamline services, and promotes transparency through the use of Information and Communications Technology.
