Soliman worried about 4Ps fate in incoming administration

Incoming president Rodrigo Duterte’s offer to the communists to play a role in the government has earned praise and concern from various sectors.

Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman expressed concern over the fate of the government’s flagship poverty alleviation program, the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

“It is on record that the Communist Party of the Philippines has not been supportive of the Pantawid program,” Soliman said.

She noted that while the eight-point economic agenda of the incoming Duterte administration recently included a plan to enhance the 4Ps, the appointment of a communist to head the Department of Social Welfare and Development ( DSWD) seemed inconsistent with the policy.

However, Soliman said she respects the prerogative of the incoming chief executive.

“It is the right of the presumptive president to choose the members of his Cabinet. We at the DSWD are now preparing our transition report. We want to make sure that the aspirations of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program and other programs and services of the department, especially the positive changes in the lives of the partner-beneficiaries, their continued empowerment and the significant strides along health and education will be protected,” Soliman said.

The 4Ps currently has some 4.4 million households enrolled as beneficiaries.

During the recent campaign, all the presidential candidates had voiced strong support for the continuation, if not an expansion or enhancement, of the 4Ps.

On the other hand, militant labor groups led by the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) welcomed the move of Duterte to appoint a member of the communist party to head the Department of Labor and Employment.

KMU secretary general Jerome Adonis said the CPP (Communist Party of the Philippines is most vigilant when it comes to labor and is thus expected to prioritize the welfare of workers.

“We would welcome the appointment of anyone who is genuinely pro-worker, nationalist and progressive to the labor post. We Filipino workers have been suffering for so long, we need all the help we can get, including an ally or even allies at the labor department,” Adonis said.

Adonis expressed hope that Duterte’s appointee will support the demand for a P750 a day minimum wage, an end to job contractualization, respect for workers’ rights to unionize and strike and for the upholding of workplace safety and health standards. –