CAYETANO WANTS PROVINCIAL LGU BUDGETS INCREASED
Says One-Size-Fits-All Solutions Don't Work

"Kailangang bigyan ng mas maraming kapangyarihan at pondo ang bawat region para aksyunan ang problema nila. 'Wag 'yung "one size fits all," Senator Alan Cayetano concluded after his conducting Listening Tours in Bulacan last week and in Cagayan de Oro on Monday.

"Minsan kasi, gusto ng gobyerno na kung ano ang solusyon sa isang lugar sa bansa, ganoon din ang solusyon sa buong bansa. Sa tingin ko, hindi dapat ganoon. Kailangan nag-a-adapt tayo per region mayroon silang sariling solusyon o adaptation ng programa," Cayetano said as he met with the senior citizens of Malolos, Bulacan.

Cayetano gave the example of how the benefits afforded by the Senior Citizens Law, well-written as it may be, are not felt in the regions. "Ngayon may mobile clinic na sa mga probinsiyang may kaya nito. Kaya kung may annual check-up, pwedeng ibigay sa ating mga senior citizen, katulad ng x-ray, blood test, o 'yung kanilang mga bakuna nang hindi na kinakailangan na ang mga senior citizens pa ang pumunta sa health center," Cayetano said.

Cayetano clarified, however, that local government units (LGUs) must not be blamed for their inability to completely deliver government welfare services to those who need it. "LGUs are often blamed for the lack of services in their areas. But how can they share the national government's burden when many LGUs have no budget for the delivery of services?" he said.

Cayetano suggested that the national government give more power to these regions and their LGUs to enable them to find the solutions to their problems. "We have to allow give LGUs a greater capacity to allow them to adapt national programs to the needs of their regions," he said..

"The solutions that would be applicable to Taguig might not necessarily be applicable to Cagayan de Oro," he added at the Cogon Public Market in Cagayan de Oro. "Kaya isa sa ipinaglalaban natin, maging sa PiTiK: Presyo, Trabaho, at Kita, maging sa programa ng gobyerno, ay ang pag-regionalize ng kapangyarihan at ang kakayahang magbigay ng serbisyo."

Cayetano is currently on a listening tour with the various sectors of society to hear about the true concerns of the people relating to PiTiK: Presyo, Trabaho, Kita.