“Kaya ba?” Kaya!”
Senator Alan Peter Cayetano gave this assurance during the Independence Day episode of Sampung Libong Pag-asa – a program that started as a bill seeking to provide P10,000 in cash assistance to Filipino families but which now continues to give the amount to selected beneficiaries through private initiatives.
Cayetano said while the proposed law has not been passed, the program will continue.
“Kailangan pa iyan bilang booster at jumpstart sa inyong mga kabuhayan.”
“Maaaring sa ngayon po ay hindi pa ipinapasa ang Sampung Libong Pag-Asa nationwide. Tingin ko po kasi na dapat three years — during and after the pandemic — kailangan pa iyan bilang booster at jumpstart sa inyong mga kabuhayan,” the veteran legislator explained.
The seasoned lawmaker had first filed the 10K Ayuda Bill (House Bill No. 8597) in the 18th Congress with his wife, then-Taguig 1st District Rep. Lani Cayetano, to provide Filipino families needing economic relief with a one-time cash assistance of P10,000.
The 18th Congress failed to include the measure in the Bayanihan 3 COVID-19 package but when he won a seat in the Senate in the 19th Congress in 2022, Cayetano filed Senate Bill No. 62 or the proposed Sampung Libong Pag-asa Law providing the same benefits.
“Having said that, dahil iba ang style ng gobyerno, may pera pero sa iba gusto idaan ang ayuda, ipinagpapatuloy natin itong programa sa pribado, through donations, at tulong ng mga kaibigan,” the senator said.
Despite the lack of government support, Cayetano’s program has been able to give cash assistance of P10,000 to more than 16,000 families since the initiative started on May 1, 2021.
“More than 16,000 na po ang nabigyan natin ng 10K ayuda.”
“Hindi po ito biro dahil more than 16,000 na po ang nabigyan natin ng 10K ayuda. Ano po’ng ibig sabihin nito? Ibig sabihin po 160 million in donations in two years ang natatanggap at napapamigay,” he said.
Cayetano also addressed some of the questions and criticism from the public, which he said is due to misinformation or the lack of information.
“When I was [House of Representatives] Speaker and nag-lockdown [noong pandemic], nakita natin na hirap na hirap ang ating mga kababayan kaya ipinasa natin y’ung Bayanihan 1. Under Bayanihan 1, lahat ng pamilyang Pilipino ay nabigyan ng P10,000 pero two gives,” he explained.
“So from the start na prinopose na natin na magkaroon ng Sampung Libong Pag-asa, hindi iyan first time. Second time sana iyan. Kaya natin prinopose dahil nakita nating nagawa na,” Cayetano said.
He said the government admits it has money for the program but wants it to be under different government programs.
“Ang naging usapin lang, whether it was past and this administration, wala nang lockdown so ‘di na kailangan yung diyes mil. Ang sabi ko naman po, tingnan niyo ang lahat ng ahensya ng gobyerno — DSWD, DOLE, PhilHealth, etc. — lahat iyan may pondo. Kapag pinagsama-sama iyan, pwedeng bigyan ng 10k ang pamilyang Pilipino,” Cayetano explained.
“Sinabi ko po na bakit hindi niyo na lang tanggalin ang red tape at ibigay lahat sa pamilyang Pilipino kasi hirap na ang ating mga kababayan na pumila sa kung lahat naman po matanggal yung burukrasya,” he added.
