Palace Blames Cayetano for Failed P10,000 Aid

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Monday said Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano’s proposed P10,000 cash assistance for every Filipino family failed to materialize because of the senator’s own shortcomings, rejecting his claim that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. blocked the proposal. Palace remarks came after Cayetano’s claims that Marcos rejected his proposal to provide cash aid to all Filipino families. READ: Palace slams Cayetano over rejected P10,000 ‘ayuda’ proposal claim At a press briefing, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said there was nothing for Marcos to reject because Cayetano filed the measure for the cash aid before the President took office. “If he hasn’t accomplished anything yet, then it can’t be said that the President rejected his proposal because he hadn’t even gotten it off the ground. Senator Alan Peter Cayetano’s shortcomings—his slow pace and inability to fulfill his promises—should not be blamed on others,” Castro said. “He should own up to his own shortcomings. He promised P10,000 for every family, yet that proposal didn’t even make progress when he was a member of Congress. Still, he repeated it as a campaign promise. I hope he doesn’t turn it into another “jetski” campaign promise—something said only to win votes but never intended to be fulfilled,” she added. READ: Lacson to Cayetano: You belong in prison The Palace official presented four printed news articles published in 2021 and 2022, when Cayetano first publicized his cash aid initiative. “If a proposal is beneficial and feasible, there’s no reason it can’t be passed. And when the 2022 national budget was approved, President Marcos Jr. wasn’t even President yet,” she said. Castro further criticized Cayetano, saying that even former President Rodrigo Duterte, the senator’s political ally, appeared unconvinced by the proposal. “It seems he doesn’t even believe in his own proposed bill, and it appears he hasn’t studied it thoroughly, because he’s asking for around P200 billion.” READ: Lino Cayetano may testify on Taguig ‘ghost projects’ – Lacson In a Viber message over the weekend, Castro hit Cayetano for pushing baseless narratives, adding that the senator is only pointing fingers due to his own negligence of duty. “Why can’t Sen. Alan Cayetano stop himself from stirring up intrigue and peddling baseless stories? Instead of acknowledging his own negligence in his duties, he points fingers at others just to save himself from embarrassment. He passes the work he fails to accomplish onto other people,” Castro said./dp