By Sunday Punch
Senator Alan Peter Cayetano on Sunday reaffirmed his support for direct aid to Filipinos, saying he will continue to raise it in the annual national budget deliberations even if the current administration remains opposed to the idea.
Speaking to Overseas FIlipino Workers (OFWs) at a meet-and-greet at the OFW Global Centre in Hong Kong on January 26, 2025, Cayetano said his proposed 10K Ayuda program, which has become synonymous to him, will bring direct aid to Filipinos in need.
“It’s a policy debate… Kung deretso sa tao (ang ayuda), mas maganda. Kailangan ng tao ng pera,” he said in his short message at the event.
Cayetano, a former Secretary of Foreign Affairs and a long-time advocate for Filipino workers abroad, was in Hong Kong over the weekend for a special episode of Cayetano in Action with Boy Abunda, which he co-hosts together with Senator Pia Cayetano and King of Talk Boy Abunda.
Cayetano has had an active engagement with the Filipino community in Hong Kong since 2005 when he first started conducting dialogues with migrant workers there.
In his message, Cayetano noted that while he has become the object of jokes because of his strong push for his proposed 10K Ayuda program, he will continue advocating for it because the people stand to benefit from it.
He said the program has actually been proven effective during the COVID-19 pandemic when cash aid was given directly to the people in two tranches.
Cayetano had first filed the 10K Ayuda Bill (House Bill No. 8597) in 2021 in the 18th Congress with his wife, then-Taguig first district Rep. Lani Cayetano.
When the 18th Congress failed to include the measure in the Bayanihan 3 COVID-19 package, he filed it in 2022 as Senate Bill No. 62 or the proposed Sampung Libong Pag-asa Law.
The senator noted to the Hong Kong audience that this is not the policy of the current administration, which wants to channel the funds through various programs and agencies instead of giving it directly to the people.
“Mas maganda daw kasi na targeted programs tulad ng sa AICS (Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation Program) o MAIFIP (Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients Program), etc. Pero ‘di naman lahat nakakakuha,” he explained.
The senator committed to bringing up the issue of direct aid during the annual national budget deliberation in the Senate.
“My job is to tell people what they need to hear,” he said.