Vice President Jejomar Binay walks among his supporters at the Makati City hall on Monday. People gathered at the city hall grounds to show their support for the older Binay and his son, Makati Mayor Junjun Binay, who was earlier served another suspension by the Ombudsman. (MNS photo)
MANILA (Mabuhay) – Just look at the numbers.
This was how Malacañang on Friday countered Vice President Jejomar Binay’s claim that President Benigno Aquino III’s administration is neglecting poor Filipinos.
At a press briefing, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said budget allocations for anti-poverty programs can easily disprove Binay’s allegations.
“We don’t really know kung ano ba ‘yung puwede pa ba nating sagutin ito punto por punto kasi masasagot po natin ito doon sa mga programa natin,” Valte said.
“Mabubuksan po natin ang budget, makikita po natin kung ano ‘yung mga programa nating direktang pumupunta doon sa mga pinakamahirap sa ating mga kababayan,” she added.
In a speech last Wednesday, Vice President Binay accused the Aquino government of being callous and of supposedly failing to make economic gains more inclusive.
“Walang hustisya at walang maasahang benepisyo para sa nakararami lalo na sa mga mahihirap,” Binay said in a combative address delivered days after he quit Aquino’s Cabinet.
Valte further said that recent poverty figures will also contradict Binay’s claim.
“Siguro po ‘yung mga numero na lang ang hahayaan naming magsalita para doon sa aming mga intensyon,” Valte said.
A Social Weather Stations survey (SWS) released last May showed the percentage of Filipino families who experienced involuntary hunger dropping from 17.2 percent last December to 13.5 percent in March – the lowest recorded rate in a decade.
A separate SWS poll during the first quarter of the year however indicated some 11.4 million families still considered themselves poor. This figure was virtually unchanged from the numbers recorded during the last three months of 2014. (MNS)