By John Dexter Tilo
Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon tagged the proposal of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) to make vaccinations a pre-condition for subsidies for beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) as "inhuman and insensitive."
"It is contrary to the 4Ps law to withhold benefits or expel members who are not vaccinated. The DILG cannot just do that. That will be inhuman and totally insensitive," Drilon said in a statement on Sunday.
The veteran senator said that the government cannot assume that 4Ps beneficiaries refused the jabs just because they are unvaccinated
"They are not vaccinated because they have limited access to vaccines especially in the countryside or the rollout remains slow or the vaccines available are not what the people prefer," he said.
Drilon added that the proposal shows "total callous disregard for the vulnerable sector of society" before slamming the DILG for being out of touch with beneficiaries.
"It only shows that the DILG is detached from reality and unaware of the real plight of the poor," he said, adding that the proposal will only make it worse for 4Ps beneficiaries and the economy.
Drilon then called on the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the lead agency of the program, to take a stand against the proposal of the DILG.
"Let DSWD handle 4Ps. I call on the DSWD to defend the 4Ps beneficiaries against the 'iron fist' of DILG," he said.
Drilon was one of the co-authors of the Republic Act No. 11310 that institutionalized 4Ps.
