DSWD hit for P780-M unused 'ayuda' funds
CITY ---The Amihan National Federation of Peasant Women (Amihan) lambasted the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) over P780 million unutilized Social Amelioration Program (SAP) or "ayuda" funds.
The appropriations were supposed to benefit poor peasant families ang marginalized sectors affected by the COVID 19 pandemic and lockdown, Amihan stated.
The group claimed vindication as since last year, it have been vocal on the urgency of the financial assistance as the lockdown barred peasants from their livelihood.
Amihan claimed that the health problem led to wiping out of household incomes and throwing them into indebtedness.
“We are enraged as many peasant families have faced hunger and poverty during the pandemic and now we are hearing about this huge amount of P780 million being unutilized and unused.
It is morally wrong, a total failure and a neglect to the demand of the poor farmers and peasant women in the countryside," the group said.
Amihan chairperson Zenaida Soriano said the DSWD imposed its discriminatory guidelines and numerous requirements.
Because of this, qualified beneficiaries have not availed the cash assistance that led to disqualification, she added.
The group assailed the DSWD which denied 139,300 qualified beneficiaries particularly in the regions CAR, 2, 7, 8 and 11 for cash assistance. The group said that these regions are mostly rural areas where peasant communities are in dire need of assistance.
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Ramos disclosed that forecasts state that fertilizer prices will continue to increase this year and probably until 2022.
"What can the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA) do besides price monitoring? FPA Director Wilfredo Roldan said the increasing fertilizer prices are beyond their control. Eh, ano pang ginagawa at bakit nariyan pa ang FPA?" Ramos said.
In Congress, the Makabayan bloc filed House Resolution 2103 to probe the steadily rising fertilizer prices.
In Senate, Senator Migz Zubiri will file a resolution to investigate the fertilizer price hikes, especially the prices of urea, the most commonly used fertilizer by rice, corn, vegetable, and sugar farmers.
KMP said farmers will support the Congressional and Senate probes.
The KMP leader said oil price hikes in the past months have also impacted farming production costs.
Oil prices have increased by a cumulative of P13/liter from January to July this year, Ramos claimed.
Farmers using 100 liters of petroleum for a water pump and 90 liters for hand tractor use have shelled out an additional P2,470 for petroleum use for a hectare of rice land, he added.
Lito Lumapas of Alyansa ng Magbubukid sa Gitnang Luzon said Central Luzon farmers are shocked with the ballooning fertilizer prices.
"Noong June 2020, nasa P950 per bag ng abono. Noong December, naging P1,200. Nitong June 2021, umabot na sa P1,500 ang Swire at Triple 14 na abono. Mataas din ang presyo ng mga insecticide at pamatay-damo," Lumapas said.
Ang isang isang litro, umaabot na rin sa isanlibong piso. In rice-producing provinces in the region, average fertilizer prices are at P1,500 as of August based on KMP's monitoring," he added.
For this cropping season, Lumapas said farmers have yet to receive any aid from the Department of Agriculture (DA).
"Noong isang taon, may iba na nabigyan ng isang bag na binhi at isang bag ng abono, pero napakaraming requirements ang kailangan. Ngayon taon, walang natanggap ang mga magsasaka. Lahat ay binibili ng mga magsasaka," he added.
In Bulacan, vegetable farmers from the Alyansa ng Magbubukid sa Bulacan, Cecilia Rapiz, said many farmers are not able to plant on time due to lack of production capital, according to Lumapas.
"Maraming magsasaka na ang hindi nakakapagtanim, walang pantustos sa pagsasaka. Hindi kaya na makabili ng isang sako ng abono. Kada kilo lang ang nabibiling abono," he said.
it is unacceptable that the DA's default solution is always importation.