September 16, 2024 | 12:00am
Once in a while, some members of Congress manage to remember their obligation to the nation. Maybe it is still due to partisan politics but it is good the brat is being taught a good lesson on how to respect our money. Cutting the OVP’s budget to the level of what it was during the terms of Binay and Leni is the right thing to do.
The historical numbers based on DBM data reveal the level of the OVP budget through the years. In FY 2016, it was P500 million given to Binay and utilized by Leni. In 2017, it was P428,618,000 as Leni was demonized and insulted by Duterte making his minions punish Leni with a small budget. So, it was in 2018, with P543,946,000; 2019 with P663,381,000; 2020 with P699,883,000; 2021 with P900,000,000 and 2022 with P702,035,000 inherited by the brat. So, she asked BBM for confidential funds worth P125 million which she spent in 11 days.
In 2023, the brat’s budget was P2.3 billion. This year, 2024, it is P1.885 billion. For next year, the budget subcommittee headed by Rep. Stella Quimbo reduced the OVP budget to P733 billion, just about in line with historical OVP budgets. What was cut from her budget proposal will go to the DSWD Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation program and the DOH Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients program.
While the decision to cut the brat’s budget was unanimous at the committee level, it still has to go to the whole House, then the Senate and the bicameral conference committee. Political horse trading can still happen.
It is really about time that the brat learns to respect our people’s money. Because she is part of a political dynasty in a provincial city where her family can’t be questioned, she is used to treating public funds as her personal resource. When she requested over P2 billion for the OVP’s budget, she was probably thinking of campaigning for president at the people’s expense. It starts with the children’s book where her image looms prominently.
The brat still has to explain a number of COA audit reports. She was also reported to have left DepEd with P12.3 billion in disallowances, suspensions and charges as of December 2023, her last full year in office. Under her watch, DepEd fed moldy and insect-infested bread to schoolchildren.
Congress wants her to explain P5.6 billion in DepEd food wastage. COA also reported that Davao City had over P2.6 billion in confidential funds during the brat’s mayoral term.
Actually, all public officials should start respecting our public funds and be a lot more transparent in how they utilize them. As of end-June 2024, our national debt has gone up to P15.48 trillion, up 9.4 percent from the same period last year. We borrow heavily because we aren’t growing our economy fast enough to cover our most urgent needs particularly in basic education, food production and healthcare.
All those borrowings add up year after year until future generations will simply find it impossible to pay the debts we made. If the money from all that debt-funded projects that will improve our country’s ability to grow the economy, then we will have the means to pay our debts.
But borrowed money is funding corruption-laden pork projects. I am told that over half of the public works budget that funds “farm-to-pocket” roads and other so-called infrastructure like flood control projects are wasted through corruption. Only unpatriotic and short-sighted politicians benefit. Our grandchildren are doomed while theirs inherit ill-gotten wealth.
Every public official must now be more careful in spending our taxes. The opposite is happening. Members of Congress have voted to transfer budgets for infrastructure and healthcare to the unprogrammed part of the national budget so their pork funds can get priority.
Incidentally, a meme on how much members of Congress get in terms of pork and perks based on an old column of mine is going around. The numbers cited there are outdated by a few years but maybe, still gives the same idea on the rapaciousness of the officials we elect.
We simply have to make our officials accountable. The brat cannot refuse to answer questions on her budget and how she spends it because of inter-branch courtesy. Congress must carry out its constitutional obligation to carefully mind the nation’s purse.
Tourism
Roland Tolentino, a reader of this column, sent me this email in reaction to my column last week on how to get visitors to come.
“Our tourism infrastructure is really bad. I took my daughter’s Australian partner to Coron, Intramuros, Chinatown, Baguio, Vigan etc. this year. While he enjoyed the places so much, the facilities are just so awful.
“Special mention of Coron. There are no decent toilets on the islands, the main street is dirty and barely any space to walk on. The staging area for boats is a mess and no public toilet. You have to go to one of the restaurants. Intramuros is not ideal for a walking tour. The stalls/stores inside Fort Santiago are basically glorified carinderias.
“Our tourism areas are geared for people with low expectations. For people used to top-notch first world destinations, the Philippines is just so exhausting and such a struggle to enjoy.
“For tourism officials to gloat about those ‘awards’ is just unbelievable. I am sure they travelled a lot more than I and have seen what the world has to offer. They must realize how inferior and embarrassing our facilities are. Even the most basic of old Spanish towns have more ambiance than Intramuros. The potential is there but it’s such a messy commercial area.”
There is so much for the tourism secretary to do to justify her continued existence in the Cabinet.
She’s the former spokesperson of the brat, so there is probably little to expect.
Boo Chanco’s email address is [email protected]. Follow him on X @boochanco.
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