CBCP blasts Aquino

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on Tuesday criticized President Benigno Aquino 3rd’s decision to veto the proposed Magna Carta for the Poor, a measure which seeks to provide indigents shelter, livelihood, education and health services.

Fr. Edu Gariguez, Executive Secretary of the CBCP–National Secretariat for Social Action, expressed disappointment over Aquino’s rejection of the bill, which he said could have been the key in uplifting the lives of the impoverished.

“Kung ang gobyernong ito ay magiging hadlang sa mga repormang para sa mahihirap, talagang nakaka-disappoint. Makikita mo talaga ang paglitaw ng tunay na kulay ng pamahalaan [If this government will be a hindrance to reforms for the poor, it is really disappointing. You can see the true colors of this government emerging],” Gariguez said over Church-run Radio Veritas.

He said that instead of vetoing the measure, the President should have sought the amendment of certain questionable provisions.

“Sana kung may mga probisyon dun na may sinasabi siya, yun na lang ang binago. Pero hindi yung buong batas na makatutulong sana sa mga mahihirap ay kanyang hinadlangan [What he should have done is seek the amendment of the provisions that he questioned, not to totally scrap the bill which could help the cause of the poor],” the priest pointed out.

On Monday, Aquino admitted that he vetoed the bill, saying the government does not have the money to implement it.

Under the bill, the government has to ensure five basic rights for every Filipino: food, employment, quality education, shelter, and health services.

Gariguez said that the absence of funding is unacceptable since it was never the issue in the enactment of the Reproductive Health (RH) law, which the CBCP staunchly opposed.

“Napakalaki ng ibinibigay sa condom at iba pang contraceptives pero walang naibibigay sa mga batayang pangangailangan ng mga mahihirap [They allot a huge amount to purchase condoms and other contraceptives but they do not provide the basic needs for the poor],” the CBCP official lamented.

Substitute

The President said that he has ordered the Social Cabinet Cluster (Human Development and Poverty Alleviation) to create a “substitute measure” that will be submitted to Congress.

“I could sign this measure and I will look handsome if I do that. But I know that the provisions cannot be met by the government,” he said on Monday when he confirmed that he vetoed the bill.

“So, ang corrective action natin dito, dinirect natin ‘yung [Our corrective action here is to direct our] social cluster to draw up a substitute measure that we will give to the next Congress and, hopefully, that they will act upon with haste,” he added

The Human Development and Poverty Reduction cluster is chaired by the Department of Social Welfare and Development and was created under Executive Order 43, which reorganized the Cabinet into five clusters including Good Governance and Anti-corruption; Economic Development; Security, Justice and Peace; and Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation.

On one hand, the President said that he wants the phrase “progressive realization” in the bill so that the government will be given ample time to provide the basic rights of the poor.

He objected to the provision in the measure which stated “the government shall, as a matter of duty and obligation, provide the requirements, conditions, and opportunities for the full enjoyment of these rights of the poor and which the poor can demand as a matter of right.’

He also cited Section 4 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), which gave the poor the right to immediately demand “the enjoyment of which is an essential step towards poverty alleviation: the right of food, employment and livelihood, quality education, shelter and basic health services and medicine.”

The President, however, said that those provisions are demandable rights that the government may not be able to provide in an instant.

For instance,Mr. Aquino said, the provision of providing shelter which he said is around five million social housing units which would roughly cost P2.32 trillion.

This year’s budget, he said, is only a little over P2 trillion, of which P600 billion has been earmarked for socialized housing.

“So, ang buod niyan, isa pa lang doon sa limang karapatan hindi na kayang punuin ng budget. Wala pa ‘yung right to food, wala pa ‘yung right to work, wala pa ‘yung right to health, wala pa ‘yung right to education,” the President said, noting that if he signs the law, the National Housing Authority (NHA) can be sued if it fails to provide housing units for indigent people.

“Maganda, pogi lahat ng kasali dito, pero bola. Hindi natin magagawa at dulo doon puro demanda. Pwede rin akong nag-delaying tactics dito, implementing rules and regulation, hanggang patapos ng term ko dina-draft, bahala na ‘yung susunod na administrasyon, kawawa naman ‘yung susunod na administrasyon,” he added. –JOHANNA M. SAMPAN REPORTER, Manila Times