Granting of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps)

SPEECH

of

His Excellency BENIGNO S. AQUINO III

President of the Philippines

During the Granting of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), led by the Department of Social Welfare and Development

[September 15, 2010, Cebu Coliseum, Cebu City]

Maayong adlaw sa imong a tanan.

Lahat po tayo ay nangangarap na mamuhay nang marangal at may dignidad. Tinuruan tayo ng ating mga magulang na gawin ang tama upang makamit natin ang isang magandang kinabukasan. Upang mamuhay nang wasto, tinatawag tayo upang sundin ang mga patakaran at maging tapat sa ating lipunan.

Subalit paano ito magagawa kung sa simula pa lamang, ipinagkait na sa atin ang karapatang mamuhay nang may dangal at may kaayusan dahil sa nakamulatang kahirapan? Dagdag pa po rito, parang ubos na ang tiwala natin sa gobyerno—gobyernong nagisnan nating inuuna ang sarili, bago pangalagaan ang interes ng mga maralita.

In my State of the Nation Address, I exposed to you the lavish and irregular expenditures of the last administration. The culture of corruption that it bequeathed to us has infected our society, corrupting our moral fiber by creating the belief that the only means to move forward is through connections to people in high places, or through reckless spending of taxpayer’s money.

We are trying to undo this mindset by filling cases against the corrupt. We are currently investigating the wrongdoings of the previous administration, and once proven guilty, we will punish them to the full extent of the law. We are undertaking these efforts to show that the straight and honest path can lead to progress; that our lives can improve through honesty and hard work. Our administration is committed to helping you tread the righteous path, by helping our people rise above poverty.

We are doing this through our Conditional Cash Transfer program, through the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, and by increasing investments in education, health and nutrition.

I am aware that these programs can be improved. There have been complaints about payment issues such as lower-entitlement and no cash in card. Missing names in the payroll list or delay in the delivery of cash grants are hindrances to the program’s objectives. I am happy to report that we are fine-tuning the mechanisms of this initiative. We will solve these problems, undo the bottlenecks, and make this program more effective.

Secretary Dinky Soliman and the Department of Social Welfare and Development are implementing the National Household Targeting System to identify the families that most urgently need assistance. This ensures that social funds are spent wisely on the most vulnerable members of our society. A well-targeted CCT program will truly afford the poor’s opportunity to enjoy basic human services that were once extremely difficult to avail.

Sa atin pong pagtugon sa inyong mga hinaing, sinisiguro po nating maaalis ang mga nang-aabuso at nandadaya lamang bilang mga benepisyaryo. Makakamtan po ng mga nararapat na mapagkalooban ang suportang-pinansyal. Hindi natin kukunsintihin ang mga nagsasabwatan sa pagbibigay ng salapi upang sila lamang ang makinabang.

Our country is beginning to see better days ahead. I have already submitted the budget for 2011 to Congress. This reform budget, which will fund urgently needed programs on education, health and job generation, is the realization of our platform of government.

As part of our commitment to improve the lives of the people, we have allocated 21.2 billion pesos for CCT which will be distributed to 2.3 million household beneficiaries. I am hoping that our allies in the House of Representatives and Senate will support us in this time of sacrifice by undertaking the necessary steps to pass this budget. We have also received generous grants from Millennium Challenge  Corporation (MCC) and Asian Development Bank (ADB).

But I must warn you that not everyone shares our goal of reform. Already the enemies of reform seek to politicize the conditional cash transfer program and question the legality of our Truth Commission. They are organized, well-funded and determined. We need your help and your support in order to succeed in our mission of transforming our country.

Hindi po nagbabago ang ating ipinaglalaban: kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap.  Ang pera ng taumbayan ay para sa taumbayan lamang. Tutulungan natin ang mga nangangailangan, bibigyang-lakas natin ang mga nahihirapan. Nalalapit na po ang katuparan ng  mga pangarap nating magkaroon ng isang bansang masagana.

Sama-sama po nating tahakin ang matuwid na landas. Panahon na po upang tanggalin ang mga tiwali at itama ang mali. Panahon na upang makamit ang pagbabago. Susuklian po ng inyong goberyno ng tapat na paglilingkod ang inyong pagtitiwala. Kayo pa rin po ang aking boss. Kayo pa rin po ang aking lakas.

Maraming maraming salamat po at mabuhay po kayong lahat!