Palace, Cayetano Trade Barbs Over P10,000 Ayuda Claim

MANILA, Philippines — Palace press officer Claire Castro has slammed Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano following his recent claim about the P10,000 assistance allegedly rejected by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Castro said in a viber message to reporters on Saturday that the Malacañang will present evidence to counter the allegations related to Cayeto’s statement during a Facebook live, alleging Marcos had opposed his proposal to provide financial assistance to families still affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. READ: Cayetano to immediately file 10K Ayuda Bill, wants House version “We will present evidence to counter Sen. Alan’s lies,” Castro said in Filipino. She expressed that Cayeto persists to push 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 added, speaking Filipino. READ: Another ‘ayuda’: P12,000 each for 7.5M families, says Marcos Cayetano earlier made the statement after the government announced a new round of financial assistance of up to P12,000 in cash aid provided to over 7 million poor and low-income households affected by the oil crisis brought by the Middle East conflict. “So in 2021, going into 2022, I said that many people still haven’t recovered, so our budget can provide. But after Pres. Marcos won, he didn’t want to,” Cayetano, speaking Filipino, said in a Facebook live. /jpv