I’d rather be feeding the poor than helping politicians buy their Nth house, just hope this isn’t just a way for government officials to extract the money from the government coffers. I’d really love if they found away, for ordinary citizens through technology; to monitor such projects.
RP steps up cash handouts to poor
Agence France-Presse First Posted 17:22:00 04/03/2009
Filed Under: Poverty, World Financial Crisis, Unemployment, Government Aid
MANILA, Philippines — Five million of the Philippines’ poorest families will receive cash or health insurance benefits from the government this year, Malacañang said Friday.
A total of 321,000 families — double the original target — will qualify for cash handouts of up to P9,000 $187.50 this year, spokesman Cerge Remonde told reporters.
More than 100,000 people have either lost their jobs or suffered pay cuts as the effects of the global financial crisis hits the Philippines.
The country has been hit by plunging exports amid falling demand from recession-plagued overseas markets, according to labor department data.
Under the plans, five million families will receive the equivalent of P1,200 each in the form of medical insurance coverage, Remonde added.
The government will also retrain half a million young people aged between 15 and 24 “which is the biggest segment of the unemployed population,” he said.
The government says nine million people — or 10 percent of the population, are now jobless or underemployed.
The Asian Development Bank said Philippine economic growth would slow to 2.5 percent this year compared to 6.4 percent in 2008.
via RP steps up cash handouts to poor – INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos.