Research group IBON said that millions of Filipinos are
going hungry and suffering the worst mass unemployment in the country’s history
as the sixth week of lockdown begins. The group said that government relief
efforts, especially to the poorest Filipinos, is sluggish and minimal. The
Duterte administration is not giving emergency relief enough attention and
appears more focused on using “martial law-like” measures to contain mounting
social unrest, said the group.
Pres. Duterte’s latest report to Congress shows how
government’s socioeconomic response is still dragging and meager, even in
achieving its already low targets. Even with emergency powers granted to the
President, bureaucratic hurdles and inefficiencies continue to stall urgent
relief efforts.
IBON said that there has been little improvement in the
distribution of promised emergency subsidies. The group noted that just about
4.3 million or less than one in four (24%) of the government’s targeted 18
million low income families have received cash assistance. Contrary to the
promise of supposedly up to Php5,000-8,000 in aid each, recipients instead
received just an average of Php4,392 each.
No additional Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program
(4Ps) beneficiaries have been given assistance other than the 3.7 million
families reported three weeks ago. Also, just 617,141 more non-4Ps
beneficiaries have been served since then. Non-4Ps beneficiaries apparently
include the previously reported 40,418 drivers of public utility vehicles and
transport network vehicle service; this is only 9% of the 435,000 drivers
nationwide targeted for cash aid.
This means that as many as 13.6 million or 76% of the 18
million poorest families have not received emergency subsidies and are going
hungry, said the group. IBON said that millions of households are at risk of
hunger because of the poor reach of emergency subsidies and even of government’s
other financial assistance programs.
The Department of Labor Employment (DOLE) stopped accepting
applications due to the depletion of the Php1.6 billion fund for its COVID-19
Adjustment Measure Program (CAMP). Only 264,154 formal workers have received
Php5,000 each in financial assistance as of April 19. This is just 2.5% of the
IBON-estimated 10.7 million workers in the country, a large majority of whom
are affected by the lockdown.
The group said that it is unclear if affected workers unable
to avail from CAMP will now be shouldered by the Department of Finance’s Small
Business Wage Subsidy Program. Not all formal workers in need meet the criteria
of being employed in small businesses and registered with the Bureau of
Internal Revenue and Social Security System.
Meanwhile, just 235,949 informal workers were assisted by
DOLE, which is still only 3.4% of 5.2 million non-agricultural informal earners
estimated by IBON. They received just an average of Php2,300 each.
IBON said that financial assistance for farmers and
fisherfolk is also slow and negligible. The Department of Agriculture has so
far reported giving assistance to 300,994 farmers under the Rice Farmers
Financial Assistance Program and 52,043 farmers under the Financial Subsidy for
Rice Farmers Program. This means only a total of 353,037 farmers have been
given subsidies or just 3.6% of the country’s 9.7 million farmers, farm workers
and fisherfolk as per IBON estimates.
IBON expressed concern that the government is more focused
on using a militarist approach instead of swiftly resolving inefficiencies and
ensuring that emergency subsidies are given to all vulnerable households.
Government’s neglect could lead to more and more Filipinos violating quarantine
as they seek ways to feed their families.
If the government gives more emphasis on “martial-law like” measures instead of being more humane and sensitive to the plight of poor and low-income families under lockdown, millions of families will go hungry amid more human rights violations and mounting social unrest, said the group.