Beneficiaries should be taught good values

Undeniably, everyone deserves a good life. However, what is good for one may not be at all acceptable for most of us. After all, we are all filled with biases and have varying degrees of satisfaction.

For instance, while a few of us marvel at the opportunities of working abroad others are content with landing at stable jobs locally. On the other hand, while some of our less fortunate brothers are fighting for lots to till, others are just sitting on their ass waiting for the manna to fall.

These varying actuations from the same sector, as usual, in the name of poverty. It is for this reason that the national government and some local government units (LGUs) are undertaking programs that shall benefit the supposedly “underprivileged sector” in the society.

Cebu City, for one, is in it. As we all now know, the City of Cebu opened a “night bazaar” on a few stretches of our streets to help the displaced street vendors sell their wares or anything for a living.

In just about two weeks from the night it started, however, we heard reports that some vendors/beneficiaries were selling their rights on their assigned spots for amounts ranging from P5,000 to P20,000 per month.

To the Cebu City government and the right-thinking Cebuanos, this is totally revolting.  They are given the opportunity to use our streets, yet, they abuse.

On the other hand, we also have nationally funded projects that are similarly situated. In fact, could be worse in terms of extent as these programs are funded in billions.

First and foremost, lest we must forget, one of the more popular programs of all governments-that is from President Ramon Magsaysay to President Rodrigo Duterte- has been the land for the landless program. While these governments had termed it differently in their stay, the ultimate objective has always been the same. Supposedly, in trying to empower them by owning the lands they till, they will not only free themselves out of poverty, they shall be able to help this country attain food security. On the contrary, however, some beneficiaries are leaving their abode.

This is not surprising at all. Yes, through the CARP, the partitioning and turnover of several humongous properties to the beneficiaries are well settled. What is unsettling is the diversity and, to some extent, stupidity, of some beneficiaries. Foolishly, some of them have unequivocally declared, though illegal, that they shall put their lots on lease. Then, at the same time enroll in the 4Ps program, the conditional cash transfer program. Therefore, at best, the program beneficiaries will just lease their lands out and collect rental annually. Then, either stay in the urban areas or live in the rural areas like pensioners. Worse, though also prohibited, some beneficiaries sold their rights over the land they were supposed to till.

Moreover, as we also know, from one administration to another, increases in the annual budgets for the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) Program have been made. Dubbed as 4Ps or “Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program”, it should have been just a five-year-long conditional cash transfer program to break the country’s cycle of poverty.

Yet, even from the very start, though we tried to help free them from bondage, some of the program’s beneficiaries are still into their usual hopeless selves. They are using their ATM cards as collateral for loans obtained from usurious lenders (loan sharks or 5-6 lenders).        Definitely, these loans are obtained for purposes other than those prescribed by the program. Today, these loan sharks are raking in no less than 10% of these beneficiaries’ monthly stipend.

This fact is confirmed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in its 2014 Consumer Finance Survey. Notably, it showed that 39.9 percent of Filipinos use their ATM cards as loan collateral wherein borrowers surrender their cards and share their PIN and other account information with informal lenders or loan sharks.

This humongous percentage is, definitely, not contributed largely by the OFWs because their number is very much less than that. Rank and file employees? Maybe. Dissecting it further, however, the possibility is high that the majority of those participating in these “Sangla ATM” schemes are 4Ps beneficiaries.

Clearly, therefore, it is about time that we should teach good values to these beneficiaries before they can enroll in whatever program intended for them. Left undone, they (some misbehaving beneficiaries) shall be parasites forever.