Marcos at APEC CEO Summit: Cash doles not something we prefer to do

BANGKOK—President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Thursday said he did not prefer to have direct cash transfer payments as subsidies, but added this was needed for survival, especially for those hit by rising consumer prices.

In a panel discussion during the APEC CEO Summit, Marcos expressed hope that direct cash transfers would eventually dial down as more individuals join the workforce, but it is still currently needed.

“This is not something that we prefer to do. I don’t think that anyone is particularly enamored with direct cash transfer payments, but it is the only way we can mitigate the situation that our people have,” Marcos said, referring to direct cash transfers.

“So that is something that we are hoping with the creation of jobs and with the growth of the economy to slowly begin to dial down,” Marcos said.

At present, the country provides grants and subsidies to lower-income households under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), with some 4.4 million Filipinos set to be catered to by the program in 2023.

“And it is with the pandemic beginning to ease at least in our case, then there are… there’s a great deal of hope that that emergency situation will slowly resolve into some kind of normalcy,” Marcos said.

The latest data available from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that there were 2.5 million unemployed Filipinos in September, down from 2.68 million jobless Filipinos in the previous month.

Marcos said the government continued to implement direct cash transfers as prices of fuel and food have continued to climb, with inflation hitting a 14-year high of 7.7% in October or the fastest since 7.8% in December 2008 during the height of the global financial crisis.

“It is actually at this point, it is survival for many of our people simply because prices of fuel, prices of food has risen to such an extent, that they simply cannot afford to survive without assistance from the government,” Marcos said.

For the longer term, Marcos said structural changes have to be made, as he said adjustments have to be made in recognition of global events.

“We must allow still innovation to… we must still continue to encourage innovation and to recognize innovation that can actually help and immediately put them into play or sent… if it’s a product to market or if it’s a system to implement that system,” Marcos said. —NB, GMA Integrated News