Bayan Muna Partylist first nominee and former three-term representative Neri Colmenares criticized the Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s Ayuda para sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP), calling it a “band aid solution” to the Filipino people’s widespread poverty.
In a reaction to the restoration of the program in the proposed 2025 national budget, Colmenares said AKAP fails to address the fundamental problem of inadequate wages among Filipino workers.
“The P26.159 billion allocated for AKAP in the 2024 budget would be better spent on implementing substantial wage increases for both public and private sector workers. What our people need is not temporary ayuda (assistance) but a living wage that can sustain their families,” Colmenares stated.
“Ang AKAP ay pansamantalang solusyon lamang na malamang ay gagamitin pa para sa pamumulitika. Sa halip na magbigay ng P3,000 hanggang P5,000 na one-time ayuda, dapat ay itaas ang sahod ng mga manggagawa sa nakabubuhay na antas na P1,200 kada araw at hindi lang nakaasa sa ayuda,” Colmenares emphasized.
The bicameral conference committee of the House of Representatives and the Senate last December 11 approved the restoration of the cash aid budget.
Colmenares pointed out that the current minimum wage in NCR of P645 and the meager increases under Salary Standardization Law VI for government employees fall drastically short of the estimated living wage needed by Filipino families.
“Hindi makatarungan na habang tumataas ang presyo ng mga bilihin at serbisyo, napakaliit ng itinaas ng sahod ng mga manggagawa. Sa SG1 employee, P17.67 lang ang dagdag sa pang-araw-araw na gastusin ng pamilya. Paano ito makakasapat?” Colmenares asked.
“We demand that instead of temporary dole-outs, the government should legislate substantial wage increases and implement genuine economic reforms that will benefit workers and their families,” he concluded.
The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) also strongly denounced the bicameral committee-approved budget it said “which “prioritizes political pork and discretionary funds over the welfare of Filipinos.”
“The bicameral conference committee’s approved budget highlights misplaced priorities that exacerbate the suffering of poor sectors often deprived of basic social services,” the KMP said in a statement Tuesday.
The farmers’ group pointed out the following budget reductions:
– Department of Education (DepEd): ₱16.5 billion
– Commission on Higher Education (CHED): ₱27.3 billion
– Department of Health (DOH): ₱35.1 billion
– Calamity Fund: Reduced by ₱500 million
“Farmers and the Filipino people are being shortchanged while politicians hoard funds for their own interests,” KMP chairperson and Makabayan senate aspirant Danilo Ramos said.
Earlier, Act Teachers Partylist Representative and Makabayan senate aspirant France Castro also criticized the proposed national budget where funds health, education and social services have been reduced.
“Bakit ang kalusugan, edukasyon, at iba pang pangangailangan ng taumbayan ang laging tinatanggalan? Pero ang pork barrel para sa DPWH, confidential and intelligence funds, at iba pang discretionary funds ng administrasyon ay hindi lang pinananatili, kundi dinaragdagan pa,” Castro asked.
“This is the height of misprioritization and callousness!” Castro fumed. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
