Senator Grace Poe on Tuesday, May 12, said she personally believes that daily-wage earners and vulnerable members of society should be first in line in the government’s assistance programs.
The committee chair admitted she was “quite surprised and a little bit disappointed” with the presentation of Air Carriers Association of the Philippines vice president Robert Lim, who told senators that the airline industry is suffering a $5-billion loss because of the travel restrictions imposed due to the pandemic.
“Of course, they had to assert what will help them, their needs, but they didn’t talk much about the safety measures that they were going to take on their own, they just said they were following international regulations…It seems like there was a lack of concern for the passengers as opposed to the presentation they had for the bailing out that they need, the lack of revenue,” Poe said.
“Imagine kung hihingi ng bail out na P4 billion, eh ang dami ngang drivers na di pa nakakatanggap ng ayuda. Kahit sino masasaktan,” she said. “I would rather prioritize ‘hand-to-mouth’ who are forced to lose their income, many of whom are without savings but who need to feed their families. Big businesses like airline companies should belong to the second or third level of priority and much would depend on the availability of resources,” Lacson opined.
Then wait until PH goes to recession.
Open up or die !