Presidential aspirant and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte chants “Mabuhay ang Moro people!” before entering his vehicle after his campaign rally in Cotabato City on Saturday. Majority of the Bangsamoros in the event expressed support for Duterte for his clear stance on resolving the Mindanao conflict.(MNS photo)
MANILA, Mar 31 (Mabuhay) – Presidential candidate Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has clarified that he will not scrap the government’s conditional cash transfer program, especially because it benefits poor families.
“Don’t worry that 4Ps will stop. It will continue under a Duterte presidency,” he said on Wednesday during a campaign rally in Catanauan, Quezon.
Pantawid Pamilyang Piilipino Program (4Ps), is a conditional cash transfer mechanism implemented first during the term of former president and now Pampanga representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. It was expanded to cover more families under the Aquino administration. Its beneficiaries are required to keep their children in school and invest in their health and nutrition.
“Who are you (candidates) to stop a program that benefits underprivileged Filipinos,” Duterte said.
However, he pointed out that the funding of 4Ps is not from candidates but from the government itself. According to a statement from the Duterte camp, the mayor criticized administration bets who claimed that the 4Ps would stop if they lose in the elections.
Earlier this month, a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed that four out of five Filipinos would “probably vote for” a candidate who will continue the 4Ps, which now benefits 4.4 million families.(MNS)