A WEEPING Social Welfare and Development Secretary Corazon Soliman finally admitted to senators on Tuesday that she had homeless people rounded up to put Manila in order for the visit of Pope Francis last month.
Soliman wept as she testified at a hearing of the Senate committee on social justice, welfare and rural development that was called to investigate persistent reports that she rounded up homeless people street children and sent them on a paid vacation for the duration of the papal visit.
Corazon Soliman admits to senators she rounded up
homeless people to put Manila in order during Pope
Francis’ visit. Sonny Espiritu
“We do not deny that the effort to put Roxas Boulevard in order,” Soliman said in Filipino, insisting that she only did so because she wanted homeless people to be registered under her agency’s Modified Conditional Cash Transfer dole program.
“This was part of the program and we coordinated [with the local government] so that [the homeless] can be brought to the process of registration,” she said.
Soliman explained that the 100 families, or 427 individuals, living along Roxas Boulevard traverses the cities of Manila, Pasay and Paranaque were brought to Chateau Royale resort in Nasugbu, Batangas not only to give them a chance to enjoy but to orient them on the MCCT.
”We used the opportunity for those who wanted to register in the MCCT,” Soliman said, adding that the activity cost the DSWD a total of P4.75 million.
She added that it was not the first time that they conducted camping project for the street children and their families.
She said the DSWD has already conducted a total of six camping activities in partnership with the 17 LGUs in Metro Manila from 2011 to 2015, benefiting 5,491 individuals, mostly street children.
The DSWD chief clarified that the department did not promise to give apartment if they will only attend the camping activity.
“What we said is join this kind of activity so that they will be given orientation on what is the MCCT. Part of our explanation is to help them bring their children to school, find a job and find a house they will rent,” Soliman explained.
Soliman said the government will shoulder the house rent for six to 12 months of the qualified MCCT beneficiaries.
“I have to admit that it is not an easy job to give protection and assistance to our countrymen living on the streets and usually they are victims of fire and eviction. Some of them were there already for at least three generations,” Soliman said.
But former Manila mayor Lito Atienza, who is now a congressman for the Buhay party-list, slammed Soliman for lying outright about the street children who were rounded up for the papal visit.
Secretary Soliman has been lying outright from the beginning on the issue of the street families of Manila,” Atienza said.
“First, she denied this issue, but when she was found out, she justified that it was a regular program of the DSWD,” he said. “I cannot imagine why the DSWD did such a thing. This is an insult to the dignity of these street children and homeless people.”
“The condition of the poor should be used and abused, they should helped to rise out of poverty,” Atienza added.
“Soliman continues to mislead the public on the way the DSWD swept under the rug the street children and the street dwellers of Manila,” Atienza lamented.
During his interpellation of Gabriela Rep. Emmi de Jesus’ privilege speech denouncing what she termed as “human rights violations” committed by the DSWD, Atienza said instead of hiding these families in a beach resort, they should be given long-term livelihood opportunities
Atienza noted that Soliman is managing a fund that amounts to almost P70-billion even as he supported proposals to conduct a congressional investigation into the issue.
Abakada party-list Rep. Jonathan de la Cruz, said the congressional probe should also include the entire review of the Aquino government’s dole program.
“The House leadership should prioritize the conduct of a congressional probe into the issue, and that the inquiry should include a review of the entire CCT program to include their database and the usage of the funds,” de la Cruz said.
“The homeless people need livelihood programs and consistent assistance through the CCT and not a treat to a resort,” de la Cruz said.
Earlier, several lawmakers, including Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, Jr. expressed surprise over the report even as some demanded for a probe into allegations made by Bahay Tuluyan, a non government organization, that the DSWD made use of its MCCT program in sending the street kids to the resort.