Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson is again the highlight
of this post.
Last week we have learned that he has endorsed
former Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas for a senate seat, of
course few weeks back he also endorsed re-electionist Bam Aquino.
In this article by veteran journalist
Mr. Rigoberto Tiglao in The Manila Times last April 03, 2019 titled “Is the
Senate, particularly Lacson, out to sabotage Duterte’s reform program?”
Lacson in the senate seems to be the main hindrance
of the 2019 being signed by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.
Senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson (photo credit to owner) |
The delay of the signing of the 2019 budget affects
the different projects of the Duterte administration.
After all of Sen. Panfilo Lacson’s
blah-blahs, full of “pork” sound bites, but hardly any empirical proof, the
Senate’s interference with the budget approved by the House of Representatives
resulted in billions of pesos of funds for the President’s key programs being
deleted from the budget for this year.
The remnants of the Yellows haven’t
given up, strategizing that sabotaging Duterte’s reforms at this stage would
weaken him politically and thereby increase the opposition’s chances of
recovering power in 2022.
For purposes of public knowledge of our subscribers,
we are quoting in full the said article of Mr. Tiglao for clarity and
truthfulness.
Is the Senate, particularly Lacson, out to sabotage Duterte’s reform
program?
I AM
becoming convinced more and more that indeed the Yellows in the Senate,
exploiting the chamber’s clubbish nature, are succeeding in sabotaging
President Rodrigo Duterte’s reform momentum through its power over determining
the national government’s budget.
After all of
Sen. Panfilo Lacson’s blah-blahs, full of “pork” sound bites, but hardly any
empirical proof, the Senate’s interference with the budget approved by the
House of Representatives resulted in billions of pesos of funds for the
President’s key programs being deleted from the budget for this year.
It is an
indication of the Yellows’ hold on media that the statement the other day of
Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr., chairman of the House committee that drafts the budget
after its submission by the executive department, wasn’t reported at all, or
was relegated to the inside pages. The Philippine Daily Inquirer, for example,
reduced the issue of delays in the House’s approval to Lacson’s allegations
that it was due to a feud between Andaya and his political rival in Camarines
Sur, Luis Villafuerte.
The remnants
of the Yellows haven’t given up, strategizing that sabotaging Duterte’s reforms
at this stage would weaken him politically and thereby increase the
opposition’s chances of recovering power in 2022.
Andaya’s
press statement the other day explained how the budget has been mangled by the
Senate. I am taking this unusual move to publish it in full, verbatim, although
I have emphasized certain points through italics.
You decide
if his allegations are accurate.
Andaya’s
statement:
“The 2019 General Appropriations Bill [GAB] has been transmitted for the signature of President Duterte, and we expect it to be signed after the Office of the President has wrapped up its review of the veto message.
“The 2019 General Appropriations Bill [GAB] has been transmitted for the signature of President Duterte, and we expect it to be signed after the Office of the President has wrapped up its review of the veto message.
We respect
the veto power of the President, and we are convinced that he will exercise
such authority for the benefit of the nation and of our people. Nevertheless,
we wish to clarify allegations from the Senate that the amendments introduced
by the House of Representatives in the bicameral conference committee meetings
were meant to debilitate the Executive Department in implementing the
President’s priority programs and projects.
The House of
Representatives never made a move to reduce the 2019 budget for infrastructure
projects as appropriated in the National Expenditure Program.
In fact, the
House introduced amendments increasing the budget for infrastructure projects
without breaching the total amount pegged by the National Expenditure Program.
This would allow the Executive Department to spur economic growth through
increased public expenditure. We made sure, however, that such amendments will
pass the test not only of constitutionality and legality, but also of
transparency and accountability.
It is the
Senate that may find itself liable to accusations of sabotage when it decided,
unilaterally, to cut down the allocation for the President’s Build, Build,
Build program and other priority projects. We are confident that the Office of
the President would consider these items in their review and find ways on how
to restore them in the President’s veto message.
The items
taken out of the 2019 GAB by the Senate include, but not limited to, the
following:
1.
Department of Transportation — P5 billion for right-of-way projects
2.
Department of Public Works and Highways — P11.033 billion for right-of-way
projects
3.
Foreign-assisted projects under DPWH — P2.5 billion
Depriving
the government of funds for right-of-way and other infrastructure projects will
surely hamper the implementation of the President’s Build, Build, Build
program. Construction of priority projects, including mass transit and railway
systems, will be mostly affected.
4. Technical
Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) — P3 billion for scholarship
of rebel returnees, out-of-school youths and rehabilitating drug dependents
enrolled under the Universal Access to Tertiary Education. As a result, at
least 320,000 students enrolled under the program will lose their scholarships
this year.
5.
Department of Environment and Natural Resources — P2.254 billion for National
Greening Program, which resulted in 50 percent budget cut for all PENROs except
Antique.
6.
Department of Foreign Affairs — P7.5 billion budget for SEA Games taken out,
but P5 billion transferred to the Philippine Sports Commission and P2.5 billion
nowhere to be found.
7.
Miscellaneous Personnel Benefit Fund — P13.4 billion. The MPBF is one of three
sources of money paid to government personnel. The other two are the budgets
lodged under each agency and the Pension and Gratuity Fund. Under Special
Provision 1, the MPBF may be used for “deficiencies in authorized salaries,
bonuses, allowances, associated premiums and other similar personnel benefits
of national government personnel….”
8. Pension and
Gratuity Fund — P39 billion. This fund covers the payment for the following:
• Pension of
AFP retirees; war or military veterans of the DND; retired uniformed personnel
of the DILG, PC-INP, NAMRIA and Philippine Coast Guard; and other retirees of
the National Government.
• Retirement
benefits for optional retirees of the National Government; retired personnel of
GOCCs which are financially unable to pay said benefits; and personnel devolved
to LGUs.
• Separation
benefits or incentives of affected personnel pursuant to the implemention of:
(i) restructuring of agencies affected by the integration and automation of the
Budget Treasury and Management System and the operationalization of the
Treasury Single Account; and (ii) rightsizing, merger, streamlining, abolition
or privatization.
•
Monetization of leave credits of National Government personnel and transferred
leave credits of those devolved to the LGUs.
The details
of these budget cuts were not fully discussed in the bicameral conference
committee. The senators unilaterally decided on the budget cuts and realigned
them with other items based on the request of individual proponents. Up to now,
the Senate has yet to make public a detailed report on the proponents who
recommended the individual realignments.”
I certainly
hope Lacson replies to Andaya’s claim. I will publish his reply in my column —
but only if he himself issues it, and not his incompetent yet arrogant office
boy who always does the replying for him. Either Lacson is so insecure as to
reply himself, or he thinks responding to columnists himself is beneath someone
of his exalted stature.
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Report from Manila Times
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