Spices of PInoy Life 

by BEN SERRANO

November 11, 2010

 As of this writing, the controversial P21-B budget the DSWD is asking to fund its pet project CONDITIONAL CASH TRANSFER is still hanging in balance at the SENATE. Actually the CCT is a copy cat from Latin countries like Brazil, etc in their respective government's efforts to alleviate poverty particularly in the countryside where poverty rear its ugly head every now and then.

     As expected by this CCT, we are always a nation of copy cats, except with the IRRI' s rice production project where Thailand and Vietnamese agriculture  students learned the trade and ropes of scientific rice production where they become successful as they are now exporting rice to us by the billions of sacks every year  and the Masagana 99 project that makes every Juan de la Cruz go gaga, we don't have no originality to speak of.

       With my late father who was with Imelda Marcos' Ministry of Human Settlements, I observed in my young age at that time how politics mired the Masagana 99 project gone haywire pffttt.. The purpose of that project maybe was somehow good again to alleviate poverty however it is in the implementation that makes Masagana 99 gone awry. True to its name, it turns every Juan de le Cruz at that time go "99" KULANG ISA KA PAKOG" "LACK OF ONE BUMP OF HEAD INTO CONCRETE WALL" so to speak..hehehe..

          And so everybody loaned during Masagana 99 days, easy was the release especially if one has a politician "Padrino" who can whisper to the dirty ears of dirty politicians at that time.

           The end result was devastating. I remember, a guy named Derecho loaned hundreds of thousands of pesos almost a million pesos (that was already huge amount at that time maybe about P10-M by now) to the government through the Masagana 99 project to establish a poultry project. My father who was then a obedient Municipal Human Settlements Officer per strict order of the  Provincial Human Settlements Officer wanted the loan facilitated ASAP (hmmm.. smell something fishy here ASAP gyod ha! ...) 

             Of course, no choice except to follow orders, my father did everything in preparing all documents and when every requirements were religiously followed with my father helping prepare all legal aspects and practically doing all leg works, the project was approved for funding.

               And since releasing of loan money was already relegated at the provincial office per order from stupids in government who only knew why there was no mechanism built to monitor how money were spent and project implemented.

                The poultry project after many months of surviving existence went ppfftt.. in short unsuccessful, bankrupt. No money returned to the government and all bamboos used in building were used fire woods by stakeholders later.

                   NOW WHY SENATOR ANGARA is opposing a cut in the P21-B CCT budget vis a vis DSWD?

                  I will explain it per my own understanding of Senator Angara's opposition,  First, it was not actually a cut of the budget but what the good Senator wanted was that CCT project must be gradually implemented by which I agree. 

                  I think because of the goodness of the project and see how Latin America countries implemented it successfully (but very simple huh..), the good Senator does not wanted the CCT program to go haywire.

                   Why? no doubt DSWD Secretary Dinky Soliman's capability is not a question but in implementing CCT it is not about Secretary Dinky alone, it is the whole DSWD bureaucracy involving many people.

                      First, do local DSWD offices nationwide capable of implementing a huge project like CCT? Do they have enough personnel to help mainstream DSWD personnel to implement CCT in schools in the countryside where there is a need to co-implement it with Dep Ed?

                         Next I will further explain why> What are loopholes within DSWD regioanl offices itself ABANGAN....