Imee asked: Where’s the moolah?

House Deputy Speaker David Suarez yesterday demanded an explanation from Senator Imee Marcor following her purported admission of realigning the government’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program in 2023.

The alleged realignment deprived 900,000 families or 4.3 million indigent Filipinos of government support, he added.

Marcos, who sponsored the budget of the Department of Social Welfare and Development in 2023, was accused of redirecting P13 billion 4Ps funds to other “quickly implementable” social amelioration programs of the agency, such as the Supplementary Feeding Program and Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation, among others.

The realignment contravened Republic Act 11310 or the 4Ps Act, House leaders said.

“Let us not forget 4Ps is a law. It’s not just a regular program, it’s not just a project that comes and goes. It has specific beneficiaries. It has specific objectives, and therefore, the funding has to be secured to support the program’s intent,” Suarez said.