SHOULD GOVT SERVE AS PEOPLE’S ‘NINONG?’ BIZ LEADERS THINK SO

SHOULD the government serve as the poor’s ninong and ninang this year? Industry leaders have called on policy- makers to distribute a Christmas round of social amelioration to poor families to boost their spending during the holidays.

Private sector leaders polled by the Businessmirror asserted that the government can save Christmas by giving out subsidy, whether in cash or in kind, to poor households. Likewise, they said this will inject additional cash into the economy; thereby, expediting business recovery and raising consumer confidence at the same time.

George T. Barcelon, the private sector representative at the Legislative-executive Development Advisory Council, pitched the legislation of a bill mandating the rollout of social amelioration for families below the poverty line in time for Christmas.

“I’m in favor of government giving SAP [social amelioration program] during Christmas season. First, it is our Filipino tradition during the season of giving; the amount need not be big, but the thought behind it counts a lot to the marginalized,” Barcelon said.

He also pointed out whatever cash will be spent for this holiday package will be circulated to the benefit of an economy in recession.

American Chamber of Commerce of the Phi l ippines Executive Director Ebb Hinchliffe proposed the government to provide the poor with product vouchers that they can use to buy Christmas staples. Like Barcelon, Hinchliffe argued a Christmas round of social amelioration will assist in accelerating economic recovery.

“Perhaps giving store or product vouchers might be better than cash,” Hinchliffe replied, when sought for his view on subsidizing the poor’s Christmas spending.

However, the government will need to generate about P90 billion should it decide to distribute social amelioration during the season of giving, Barcelon said. He argued the allocation for SAP in the second Bayanihan to Recover As One Act fails to cover all 18 million poor households.

“There was an allocation in the Bayanihan 2 but not much,” Barcelon said. “Going by past SAP to 18 million families, at P5,000 each, it’s about P90 billion. The government has to dip into its coffers to cover the unbudgeted portion.”

Under Bayanihan 2, an emergency subsidy of P5,000 to P8,000 may be granted to low- income families in areas under lockdown, as well as to repatriated overseas Filipino workers. Similarly, workers displaced by the Covid-19 pandemic may avail themselves of the financial assistance.

Filipino families, especially the poor, plan to spend less for Christmas this year, painting how grave the health crisis flushed the cash out of people’s wallets.

In a poll, financial technology firm Finder reported 52 percent of Filipino adults look to trim their Christmas spending in the time of Covid- 19. According to the survey, over half plan to reduce holiday payouts by 31 percent; in real numbers, that means Christmas spending could plunge to P11,781, from P17,000, on an average.

Finder assessed retailers and service providers then may lose around P95 billion in revenue as people decide to decrease their Christmas spending.

In a previous interview with the Businessmirror, Trade Undersecretary Ruth B. Castelo admitted prices of noche buena items, particularly hams, will likely increase this year. As such, this may just be the year when families will be substituting ham with luncheon meat, queso de bola with cheese food and ground meat with corned beef as pasta ingredient.

To keep up with the changes in spending pattern, supermarket owners look to promote noche buena alternatives that buyers may find value for their money.