Angara bats for 3-tiered DepEd-DOH-DSWD tie-up in CCT program

By Jason de Asis

 

SENATE OFFICE, Manila, November 16, 2010-Sen.Edgardo J. Angara has batted for the forging of a three-tiered partnership among the Department of Education, the Department of Health and the Department of Social Welfare and Development in the implementation of the government’s Conditional Cash Transfer Program.

 

Angara, vice-chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, said since incentives are being given to families, it is only logical for the DOH and the DepEd to take an active part in the program to disabuse the public mind that the CCT is nothing but a simple charity scheme.

 

“If the DSWD is the sole handler, the public perceives it as a simple charity program, which is not what CCT is all about," Angara said.

 

He explained that the DepEd has people even in far-flung barangays while the DOH plays an integral part in the conduct of vaccinations and check-ups of children.

 

The three agencies are essential in the said program, he said, in clarifying his earlier statements about slashing the proposed budget of the DSWD.

 

Angara said the original P21 billion for the CCT, accounts for almost P1.3 billion a month which requires a lot of warm bodies needed to implement the CCT.

 

He said that while he respects social workers and in their abilities, he is concerned that the DSWD lacks the sheer number of employees to do all the legwork. “This is why I suggested reducing the CCT budget from P21 to P15 billion, so that we might be able to realign the extra P6 billion into other projects,” he said. (Jason de Asis)