Tag: NEDA

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Ping Lacson: Food Stamp Program Must be Data-Driven to Succeed

LUCENA, Quezon – If it is to succeed, the government’s food stamp program to help some 750,000 families must be data-driven, independent senatorial candidate Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson said Friday.

Lacson said having a solid database will help make sure that the needy families will be assisted, and that the government’s resources for the program will not be lost to corruption.

“For me, the most important thing is to make sure the program is data-driven before it is fully rolled out, so we won’t waste taxpayers’ money,” he said at the Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas senatorial slate’s press conference here.

“We cannot afford to be indiscriminate, blindly giving away food stamps,” he added.

Related: Ping Lacson: Food Stamp Program Dapat Data-Driven para Sumakses

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Editorial: National ID Fiasco [Malaya Business Insight]

From Malaya: From two Senate personalities who reacted to this development, Lacson has a more relevant one. He said this case should not end just with the termination of the contract. “Following proper legal procedures, sanctions with commensurate damages must be imposed,” he said.

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On the President’s ‘Appeal’ to Senators to Give EO 128 a Chance

President Duterte’s Executive Order 128

First, the Senate has no choice since the reduced tariff rates and the increased in-quota MAV have already taken effect.

Second, kung meron lang sanang nangyaring inter-departmental courtesy consultation, since EO 128 is a consequence of a delegated authority granted by Congress to the President anyway, we could have given our input based on our own consultations and research.

For example, the National Economic and Development Authority’s conclusion that demand for pork has not changed in spite of the pandemic is flawed. As I had pointed out during the Senate Committee of the Whole hearing, the 50% contraction registered by the hotel and restaurant operations should easily affect demand since the pre-pandemic 8.2 million foreign tourists are now eating pork somewhere else outside the country. Thus, at 15 kilograms of pork consumption per capita as estimated would mean 120 million kilograms less pork. That should be substantial enough to consider when they came up with the 350,000,000 kilograms in additional in-quota MAV allocation.

That being said, the appeal might as well be directed toward the 80,000 backyard hog raisers, their families, farm hands and all others now being affected by the EO, both directly and indirectly.

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Lacson Thankful for Hope Brought by Donated COVID Vaccines

Image Courtesy: CNN Philippines

Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson expressed thanks over the weekend to the donors of COVID-19 vaccines that arrived in the Philippines recently, saying these give Filipinos hope of recovering from the economic crisis caused by the pandemic.

Lacson said the vaccines from China-based Sinovac, as well as AstraZeneca vaccines from the COVID-19 Vaccines Advance Market Commitment (COVAX AMC), will help achieve herd immunity that is a key to resuming economic activities.

“Always grateful to China and COVAX AMC for making us see a sliver of hope to achieve herd immunity,” he said on his Twitter account Friday evening, adding the P2.2-billion daily loss in household consumption and the 9.5-percent economic contraction was driving the country a step closer to insanity until the Sinovac and AstraZeneca vaccines arrived.

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On the Bad Shape of the Philippine Economy

The Philippine economy is definitely in bad shape, made even worse by the difficult choice between addressing health-related problems and the sinking economy.

A classic example is the NEDA’s recommendation to the President to allow children 10 years old and above to go out of their homes with their parents, as NEDA studies show 50 percent of the economy is driven by family activities outside their homes.

It was a very sound NEDA suggestion that was initially given due course but recalled immediately, instead of first considering a middle ground that would have accomplished both – like closely supervised or monitored family outings.

Policy decisions play a vital role in striking a balance between long-term implications on the economy and the immediate effects on our people’s health concerns. The right decisions will chart our path towards a sustainable “new normal,” pull us out from pits of social and economic distress, and shape a safer and more resilient society.

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