Another classic Noynoying

Cash transfers seem to be the way to go for the administration of Noynoy in winning the hearts of Filipinos.

In principle, it works to allow the government to keep close tab of those who are availing of subsidies from the government. The conditional cash transfer (CCT) for the poorest Filipinos, for instance, is bankrolled by a P40-billion fund from the budget.

The administration of Noynoy also uses cash transfers to tide over public jeepney owners from the high cost of fuel through the Pantawid Pasada program which uses the same cash doleout principle as the CCT.

Just the other day, Noynoy signed an executive order that would adopt the same cash doleout scheme, this time for businesses which are holding tax credit certificates (TCCs) on their value added tax (VAT) payments since 2009 when questions were raised over the abuse on the use or trading of the TCCs.

Some P10 billion will be appropriated to the TCC monetization program until 2016 when Noynoy’s term ends based on the EO issued for the scheme.

The use of cash doleouts, however, cuts two ways and aside from giving the government more control of the incentives it offers, these effectively encourage political patronage from those dependent from the doleouts.

The CCT has some 4 million beneficiaries as targets and a multiplier of just two would give the administration of Noynoy 8 million adherents who will support whatever political payback demanded from them in exchange for the continued flow of the monthly doleouts.

Businesses targeted by the TCC monetization scheme are mostly export concerns which are labor-intensive companies of at least 10 workers each. Just 1 million small and medium firms availing of the scheme has the potential of reeling in at least 10 million votes.

The granting of cash doleouts also would be hard to take back and it would be incumbent for the future administrations to match, if not exceed, the cash subsidies given by the government to choice, which can be read as vote-rich, segments of the society.

Sen. Edgardo Angara earlier had mused that failure of the government to sustain cash doleouts may even lead to unrest since the government had made many Filipinos dependent on the monthly stipends.

He noted that the doleouts have taken the place of government initiatives on enhancing productivity such as research, development and infrastructure in the national budget.

In short, the doleouts scheme of Noynoy constitutes a convenient replacement for policy-making that would assure long-term development.

“The danger with entitlements and giveaways such as the CCT, is that you (the government) cannot take it back. Otherwise, there would be social unrest, if this project is withheld… the appropriations must be there, and people will continue to clamor and insist for the doleout to be continued,” Angara citing the pitfalls of cash transfers, said.

In gist what Angara, who has been in government for decades, said was that Noynoy had chosen the easiest path on governance that is handing out giveaways to make up for serious hard work to solve the country’s ills.

Noynoy has become the worst of the trapo politician, buying voters with his doleouts that come from taxpayers’ money.

More pointedly, its Noynoying in governance at work. –Daily Tribune