Dispatch from Crame No. 767:
Sen. Leila M. de Lima's short reaction on the 2nd Weekly Report per Bayanihan Act

4/7/2020

Mas marami ang plano kaysa aksyong konkreto. Ito ang mapapansin sa 2nd weekly report ni G. Duterte.

Wala ring accounting ng pera at resources - kung saan kinuha, gaano, at paano nagamit. Kaya bulag pa tayo kung sapat, tama, at angkop ang paggugol ng kabang-bayan. This is the main point of Section 5 of RA 11469 that the President has to report "the amount and corresponding utilization of funds."

Gayunman, magandang balita na naumpisahan nang maipamigay ang emergency subsidies for 4Ps beneficiaries. 3.7 milyong pamilya pa lang ang nabibigyan, as of 3 April 2020, kaya ang natitirang mahigit 14 milyong pamilya (sa tantyang 18 milyon) ay naghihintay pa rin ng kanilang ayuda.

I have been reading about the problems brewing in the communities in the social amelioration program. It appears that DSWD went ahead and implemented the cash assistance program from its old census and without waiting for the LGUs inputs on the total number of beneficiaries. They also distributed very limited number of forms - which could not be reproduced by LGUs - which further limited the opportunity for many to claim their financial assistance.

Napilitan tuloy ang marami na paghatian ang kakaunting ayuda na naipamahagi. We are not dealing with mere statistical estimates here. Bawat sambahayan na hindi nabibilang ay karagdagang sambahayan na magugutom sa panahon ng ECQ. If the government could not remedy this situation, our country could end up dealing with greater social unrest.

Sa mga gamit naman ng mga doktor at ibang healthworkers, hindi naiulat ang aktwal na bilang ng PPEs and medical supplies na meron tayo. Meron lamang sinabing guidelines for enterprises in the production and/or packing of medicines, supplies and equipment, pero iyon na lang muna yon: guidelines at plano. I hope there will be a timeline for acquiring much needed equipment and supplies, coupled with existing inventory of what we have, and the projected requirements to guide all stakeholders.

We also need a clearer picture on how we plan to conduct mass testing. I understand from the reports that it will be limited only to the PUMs and PUIs for the meantime. But beyond that, the report bears nothing substantial on the matter. Sa mga susunod na weekly report, inaasahan ko na mas magiging malinaw ang gagawing rollout sa mass testing. Lubos na makatutulong ito para mas maayos na ma-isolate at maagapan ang mga posibleng COVID-19 cases.

Overall, based on the 2nd weekly report: things are moving, but not as fast and as efficient as we want. ###

(Access the handwritten version, here: https://issuu.com/senatorleilam.delima/docs/dispatch_no._767)