Former House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano on Monday pushed for the use of digital technology to make the distribution of government subsidies easier for Filipinos amid the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in the National Capital Region.
“Ididikit mo rin sa QR code yung digital wallet, para everytime we give ayuda, hindi na tayo mag-bahay-bahay. Kung naka-QR code bawat Pilipino, mas madali natin mapapadala,” Cayetano said in a radio interview on August 1.
([We should] attach the QR code to digital wallets, so that every time we give assistance, we don’t need to go house to house. If every Filipino is using a QR code, then we can send the cash aid easily.)
He said aside from cash assistance, the QR code could contain other information like vaccination status and even the national ID.Meanwhile, Cayetano pushed government to be proactive in addressing the pandemic, saying it has been in apparent denial of the situation.
“Ang problema po is the in-denial mindset na parang panandalian lang itong COVID, at matatapos na ito. Noong dumating po ang bakuna, akala natin tapos na ito … Start being proactive, ‘wag yung kung ano ang problema kahapon, ngayon lang natin inaasikaso,” he said.
(The problem with the in-denial mindset is that they think COVID-19 is short and that it will end soon. When the vaccines arrived, we thought this pandemic had ended … Start being proactive. Don’t solve yesterday’s problems today.)
Cayetano said the government had been merely reactive to COVID-19 and lacked swiftness to curb the threat of the Delta variant.
“Yung adaptive and innovative, kulang na kulang. Kung kailan mag-EECQ, tsaka palang maghahanap ng pera para sa ayuda,” he said.
(The government heavily lacked in being adaptive and innovative. It only started looking for the money for assistance when the ECQ was approaching.)