Presiding Officer Francis “Chiz” Escudero. Photo courtesy of the Senate of the Philippines.
A Filipino does not necessarily have to be poor to be financially incapable of paying for cancer treatment or an expensive court case, Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero said as he called for government to rethink how it determines who qualifies as indigent.
Escudero said the existing system can exclude households earning above established poverty thresholds even when extraordinary expenses leave them unable to afford essential medical care, legal representation or other services.
The senator wants government agencies to adopt a broader and more uniform framework that considers a person’s actual circumstances alongside income when determining eligibility for assistance.
“Indigency, therefore, should also be defined by circumstance, and not just income,” Escudero said during an episode of his Chiz Wiz! Usapang May Laman podcast.
At present, there is no single standard applied across government. Barangays, the Public Attorney’s Office and social protection programs such as the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program use different mechanisms and criteria when identifying indigent individuals or households.
Escudero said this fragmented approach can become problematic for families that do not fall within conventional definitions of poverty but suddenly face expenses far beyond their financial capacity.
He cited serious illnesses as one example. A household with salaried workers, including teachers, could still struggle to finance prolonged cancer treatment despite earning more than the minimum wage. Escudero suggested that circumstances of this kind could be recognized under classifications such as “cancer-indigent.”
The same principle could apply to people confronting costly legal proceedings. He pointed to nullity of marriage cases, which he said could require between Php 200,000 and Php 500,000 in expenses, potentially leaving an otherwise employed person unable to afford access to the courts.
“Ano ba talaga ibig sabihin ng indigency? Meaning 4Ps ka ba? Ang problema kasi sa batas natin iisa lang ibig sabihin ng indigency. Pero para sa akin iba’t iba ang level ng indigency,” Escudero said.
Escudero said replacing a one-size-fits-all approach with circumstance-based classifications could broaden access to government services for Filipinos facing exceptional financial burdens. Litigation lawyer Maggie Garduque, who appeared on the podcast, said such classifications could be crafted consistently with the Constitution’s equal protection clause.