In Binondo, Duterte, Cayetano feast over pancit , pan de sal with residents

Presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte and his vice presidential running mate Alan Peter Cayetano surprised some residents of Binondo Tuesday dawn when the tandem made a quick stopover to share some midnight snacks with them.
Over plates pancit canton, salted eggs and pan de sal, Duterte and Cayetano promised to end the misery of Filipinos living in conditions of poverty.
The stopover signaled the official start of the 90-day campaign.
“Magandang umaga ho sa inyong lahat (Good morning to all),” Duterte greeted the residents as he walked through an alley, shaking the hands of everyone around.
The tandem listened to the complaints of the residents and discussed their political agenda with them. The lively exchange was followed by the hearty midnight snack.
A fish vendor, 52-year-old Rosalia Manalang, said she was happy with Duterte and Cayetano’s visit.
“Gusto talaga  namin makita   si  mayor at marinig kung ano ang  plano nya para sa  aming mga mahihirap,” said Manalang, who is from Maasin, Leyte, Duterte’s hometown. “Sobrang hirap ng buhay dito. Kahit na anong uri ng pagsusumikap, kahit na anong uri ng trabaho na ang sinubukan namin, hirap na hirap pa rin kami.”
Duterte’s proclamation rally was still hours away in an event scheduled at nearby Tondo, but he was on campaign mode early on with a visit to Barangay 286 in Binondo. There, he vowed to end the misery of the people if elected.
Duterte and Cayetano said they will sustain the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, the government’s poverty alleviation program.
But Duterte has also been consistent about his plan of giving sustainable forms of livelihood and assistance to poor Filipinos so they need not depend on dole-outs from the government all their lives.
He said if he wins the presidency, he might even increase the cash grants to the program’s beneficiaries, the poorest of the poor in the country.
Under the current 4Ps, also called the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT), each beneficiary with at least three children can avail themselves of P1,400 per month or P15,000 a year.
For his part, Cayetano said the condition of the people in the area is exacerbated by a lack of national government support. The 4Ps program of the government is selective and does not really cover everyone who deserves help, he said.
Because of this, the residents are forced to borrow money from loan sharks through the scheme popularly called 5-6. Loan sharks, he said, take advantage of the people in slum areas across the country.
“Many residents here want to start up their own business, but because of lack of capital, they borrow from these loan sharks and are forced to do so despite extremely higher interest rates,” Cayetano said.
Cayetano recalled that he gave a P200,000 cash assistance to the members of Pritil Market Vendors Association and after two years, the seed money grew to as much as P800 ,000.
“Ang mga miyembro, nagbayad sila, kaya lumaki ang pera nila,” he said.
Duterte warned those who engage in the 5-6 business to stop abusing the poor people. Loan sharks charge borrowers to as high as 20 percent interest rates, and typically do business under illegal conditions as they are unlicensed lenders.
“Stop it. Ako na nagsasabi sa inyo. Stop it,” Duterte said.