MALACAÑANG defended on Wednesday its conditional cash transfer (CCT) program, saying that the funding aid provided to marginalized members of society was an “investment on the people.”
In a press briefing in Malacañang, Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said the CCT has provided the future generation of Filipino children with opportunities to earn an education and at the same time has given Filipino mothers a chance to live healthy lives in order to help them care for their families.
“I don’t see the reason, I don’t see the logic behind the resistance to the CCT other than the fact that it has de-politicized and has taken away patronage politics,” Lacierda said.
“It’s an investment on the people,” he added.
The CCT program provides Filipino families with up to P1,500 a month as long as the parents pledge to send their children to school and have their wives undergo regular checkups with a health practitioner.
Lacierda said the CCT has proven itself successful in Brazil and Mexico and has also been exhibiting the same success rate in 79 out of 80 provinces in the Philippines.
“The conditional cash transfer program is in 79 out of 80 provinces, 79 provinces are involved in the CCT program, except for the province Batanes,” Lacierda noted. (PCOO)
