LAWMAKERS led by Deputy Majority Leader for Communications Erwin Tulfo of ACT-CIS Partylist on Tuesday said that government aid programs such as Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez and Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Card and Rice Distribution (CARD) Program will soften the impact of the recorded rise in inflation last February.

In the regular press briefing of the House of Representatives, Tulfo said even if inflation rose to 3.4% this February compared to 2.8% in January, the government has put in place many intervention programs to cushion the effects of the rise in inflation.

“Marami hong mga bagay na ginagawa ang gobyerno natin to intervene, to soften the impact of this rise in inflation. Hindi lang ho talaga naha-highlight. I have a list of programs being implemented by the government every week to soften this inflation, para hindi mahirapan ang mga kababayanan natin,” said Tulfo.

Rizal Rep. Fidel Nograles, the chair of the House Committee on Labor and Employment, said these government aid programs work as “wage subsidies” in the absence of a legislated wage hike for now.

“Maaari ho tayong magbigay ng ayuda, AKAP, tulong-pinansyal, (‘yung) DoLE nandyan ho yung mga iba’t ibang mga government intervention programs. Kailangan lang ho nating tukuyin sino ho ba ‘yung mga minimum wage earners na magiging entitled dito ho sa ating wage subsidy,” Nograles said.

House Assistant Majority Leader Mikaela Angela “Mika” Suansing of Nueva Ecija said that with the rise in inflation in February, the government should be focusing on lowering the price of rice in the market.

“The focus really of government interventions should be on rice. The focus of the policies of the House of Representatives, of the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the President’s administration in general should be to help lower the price of rice,” Suansing said.

“Ngayon, papalapit na po ulit yung panahon ng harvest, so it’s very, very critical for our government to be prepared in terms of providing support to our farmers. Dahil ang pinaka-tumataas ang presyo ay ang bigas, kailangan siguraduhin ng ating gobyerno na merong paraan na magkaroon po ng access yung ating mga kababayan sa mas murang bigas,” she added.

House Assistant Majority Leader Raul Angelo “Jil” Bongalon of Ako Bicol Partylist said the government should now focus on two things: food stability and the availability of basic necessities for Filipino families.

“We rally behind the call of Speaker Martin Romualdez to keep on reviewing and prioritizing the legislation that will address inflation … So we are looking for a solution, a solution which is for the long term that will address the issue of inflation and also that will provide long-term sustainability and self-sufficiency when it comes to the basic necessities of our Filipino people,” he said.

Tulfo started to enumerate these government aid programs starting with the CARD Program, a revolutionary project that aims to distribute a 25-kilogram sack of rice and P1,000 in cash for vulnerable sectors through the legislative districts of the House of Representatives.

“(A total of) 80-plus provinces, mabibiyayaan ng rice and cash distribution na ginagawa ngayon ng administrasyon through Speaker Martin Romualdez. Binibigyan po ‘yung poorest of the poor ng cash and rice assistance,” Tulfo noted.

He also mentioned the P26.7 billion Ayuda para sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, which he used to head, as also part of government intervention to aid nearly 12 million “near-poor” citizens.

“Yung mga P23,000 or less yung kita, nasa pribado ka man o ang trabaho mo man ay waiter or waitress, call center, mabibiyayaan ka ng one time na 5,000 (under AKAP). Yun na ibibigay na ayuda to soften the inflation, para hindi rin maramdaman ng mga nasa middle class na nakakaligtaan ng gobyerno,” Tulfo said.

“Unfortunately, naging kontrobersyal siya so medyo pinatigil muna ng DSWD at pinag-aaralan, how do we do this kasi medyo tinamaan nga ‘yon pero naglagay ng pondo diyan ng Congress para po dun sa mga middle class ho natin,” he added.

The AKAP allocation came under attack from Sen. Imee Marcos who questioned the existence of the allocation, saying senators weren’t aware of it.

However, lawmakers shot back and said her signature was in the bicameral committee report on the 2024 national budget, and she also witnessed the signing into law of the General Appropriations Act (GAA).

Tulfo also mentioned other government aid programs such as the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) of the DSWD, the TUPAD from the Department of Labor and Employment, the increase to P500 the senior citizens and PWD discounts on groceries, and the possibility that PhilHealth may shoulder 50% of medical bills of members.

The last two programs are upon the encouragement of Speaker Romualdez with the DTI and PhilHealth.

“This is a lot of intervention programs by the government na hindi lang po nababasa o naha-highlight, ‘di na po natin napapansin kasi napapansin ho natin sa media ‘yung away po ng Kongreso ‘tsaka Senado,” Tulfo said.