In a renewed call to expedite the delivery of the Social Amelioration Program (SAP) nationwide, Senator Win Gatchalian is urging the government to use the Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS) Law to ensure a faster and easier identification of SAP beneficiaries.
The CBMS Law, which Gatchalian had co-authored, is a monitoring system that gathers information on all households in the community that is LGU (local government unit)-based, starting at the barangay level. The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) takes the lead as the implementing agency. The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), for its part, is tasked to develop data-sharing arrangements between government agencies, while the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) is responsible for the dissemination of information related to all CMBS activities.
“This law makes coordination in barangays of every local government faster.”
“Sa batas na ito, mas magiging mabilis ang koordinasyon mula sa mga barangay ng bawat lokal na pamahalaan. Bawat barangay at munisipalidad katuwang dito kaya synchronized ang galaw,” the seasoned legislator said.
The veteran lawmaker expressed disappointment that as of April 30, only 57% or 10.3 million families out of the 18 million targeted families of the program have been served.
The DILG had originally given LGUs until April 30 to distribute the financial aid to their constituents. The deadline was extended for another week as requested by some LGUs that cited social distancing and population issues.
Given the situation, Gatchalian urged the national government to expedite the issuance of a set of standards and guidelines for the CBMS law and utilize all available coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related government budget, such as the P1.49 trillion total budget of the administration’s economic recovery plan “Four-Pillar Socioeconomic Strategy Against COVID-19.” Emergency support for vulnerable groups and individuals falls under Pillar 1, which has an initial budget estimate of P590 billion.
It was earlier reported that the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) is not yet in place due to lack of standards and budget and that a series of pilot test registrations have yet to be conducted before the supposed mass registration schedule in June this year.
“Nakalipas na ang isang taon mula nang maisabatas ang CBMS pero hanggang ngayon ay naghihintay pa rin tayo sa mga panuntunan kung papaano ipapatupad ito,” he lamented.
“This is yet another wasted opportunity on the part of the government to maximize the potential of the new law.”
“This is yet another wasted opportunity on the part of the government to maximize the potential of the new law, which could have been used for the seamless distribution of relief to many Filipinos during the coronavirus pandemic,” Gatchalian said.
Gatchalian, who is the Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Economic Affairs said data gathered thru CBMS can be utilized by the national government and LGUs in implementing focused and targeted welfare assistance and help policy makers and program implementers to have a comprehensive picture of the different dimensions of poverty and identify and implement appropriate interventions.