Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte doubted House Speaker Martin Romualdez’s real intention for spearheading the distribution of cash and rice assistance worth P1.2 billion in the recently held Cash Assistance and Rice Distribution Day (CARD Day) held in Davao City last week.
Romualdez led the distribution of cash assistance and rice to 3,000 drivers where each beneficiary received ₱5,000 in cash and 25 kilos of rice.
“Ang isyu diha, ang kuwarta nga ilang ginahatag is money well-spent by the government? Tinuod ba gyud na necessary ba gyud na inyong ginabuhat para sa Davao? Or are you just using the programs from the government agencies to forward your political intentions? Mao na pangutana dinha. Kamo kung manghatag mo, ihatag na uy paantuson pa gyud na ninyo ang mga pobre kung manghatag na lang mo. Gusto lang gyud ninyo ipirma sa mga nawong nila nga sa inyuha gikan kuno, kuno ha dili na sa inyo gikan, kuno,” Duterte said during the Basta Dabawenyo podcast on Sunday.
Duterte said the government should teach the people to work and to pay taxes and then when they pay taxes, the government should hold on to them, protect them, not steal them, not realign them so that it can help strengthen the economy as well as empower the working classes.
“Aron ang imong ekonomiya mukusog ug para mu-generate sila ug more income para mubalik na pud sa gobyerno. Ingon ana unta tu. Unya iuli nimo ang kuwarta ug seguruhon nimo nga dili kupiton. Basic man kaayo na ang pangobyerno intawon dili nila mabuhat. Kay ang gusto nila panguhaon nila ang kuwarta, kaltasan nila ang PhilHealth, ibutang nila sa ayuda nila, tatakan dayon nila ug nawong ang programa. Well, traditional politics sa Pilipinas. Kani karon si Romualdez, et al you have the perfect example,” the mayor said.
Romualdez was joined by Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Secretary Leo Tereso Magno, who assisted in handing out the aid.
The cash assistance, sourced from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), was facilitated by the Dumper Partylist, specifically targeting drivers in the Davao region.
CARD Day is part of the broader five-day initiative, MinDANow: Serbisyo Para sa Mindanao, organized by MinDA.
