CAYETANO CALLS FOR CONDITIONAL CASH SUPPORT FOR ORPHANS

SENATOR Alan Peter Cayetano on Wednesday urged the administration to provide conditional cash support for orphans, citing the state’s constitutional duty to act as a second parent to abandoned children.

Cayetano made the call during the Senate plenary debate on November 20, 2023 on the proposed budget for the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for next year.

“If we’re allotting P100 billion for 4Ps (Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program), why can’t we allot a certain amount for orphans?” he asked the DSWD.

“Blessed pa nga ‘yung mga anak ng mahihirap dahil may magulang sila, samantalang itong mga orphan walang magulang,” he added.

Cayetano proposed that the agency identify stunted children in orphanages and provide cash support to each of them through the care facilities, on the condition that they attend school and receive regular health check-ups.

“It’s like a 4Ps din, pero instead of dealing with individual parents, you’re dealing with those running the institution,” he said.

Upon Cayetano’s questioning, DSWD revealed there is no program specifically addressing the needs of orphans, aside from the Oplan Pag-Abot for individuals living in the streets.

The agency added that it provides P3,000 in cash assistance per child in care facilities through the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS), but this is a one-time benefit.

“So that’s less than P300 a month, samantalang ‘yung may parents, binibigyan natin ng P1,600 per month,” Cayetano said, referring to 4Ps beneficiaries.

“So I’ll be shameless in lobbying for those who do not have parents,” he added.

Echoing Cayetano’s concern, Finance Committee vice chair Sen. Imee Marcos, who sponsored the agency’s budget in the Senate, added that even a census of the total number of orphans in the country is non-existent.

In 2022, upon his return to the Senate, Cayetano filed Senate Bill No. 301 or the Trust Fund for the Abandoned, Neglected, or Voluntarily Committed Child, which seeks to put up a trust fund account for every abandoned, neglected, or voluntarily committed child, to be managed by DSWD in partnership with a trust entity.

“Like any other child, they need to live in a safe, secure, and comfortable family environment, free from poverty and exploitation. Like other children, they, too, are deserving of love and affection,” Cayetano said.