MANILA, Philippines?Malacanang should give priority to people?s health over the comfort of officials when traveling, and thus re-channel the P1.2-billion budget for the President?s executive jet to health service, party-list lawmakers said Wednesday.
This call was made through House Resolution 1329 authored by eight party-list Representatives Satur Ocampo, Teodoro Casino, and Neri Colmenares of Bayan Muna; Liza Maza and Luz Ilagan of Gabriela; Joel Maglunsod and Rafael Mariano of Anakpawis; and Raymond Palatino of Kabataan.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has already called off the planned purchase of the new jet following public criticisms of the lavish dinner of the President and her entourage in New York and Washington DC.
According to the resolution, the P1.2 billion fund intended for the presidential jet should instead be used for the country?s ?hemorrhaging health care delivery system to address the acute lack of government hospital services to the majority of the Filipino people.?
The Department of Health (DoH) has a measly P23.67 billion budget for 2009 and is not enough to meet the needs especially of indigent Filipinos in need of basic health care.
?In fact, the Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center, the flagship hospital of the DoH, only has P363.6 million for its 2009 budget. This is the case for all other public hospitals under the DoH such as the Rizal Medical Center (P212.83 M), East Avenue Medical Center (P403.34M), Quirino Memorial Medical Center (P209.38 M), Tondo Medical Center (P157.69M), Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital (P294.48M), National Children's Hospital (P198.41M) and the Amang Rodriguez Medical Center (P163.85M), to cite a few,? the resolution said.
On August 13, the Bids and Awards Committee of the Office of the President put out an ad in a newspaper inviting aircraft manufacturers for the acquisition of one presidential fixed-wing executive jet with the following specifications: ?factory new,? twin-engine, pressurized, equipped with instruments compliant with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) standards, and fitted with an auxiliary power unit and in VIP cabin configuration.
The OP-BAC also said in the ad that ?it should have been used as VIP/ executive aircraft by the country of origin and by at least two countries. The approved budget for the contract is P1.2 billion ($25,060,186 with a $1 to P48.055 exchange rate).?
The popular executive jet brands in the world today are Learjet, Boeing Business Jet, Cessna, Gulfstream, and Dassault Falcon.
?It seems that the OP has not considered a new jet is going to be priced in the range of at least $10 million (for the smaller ones) to $50 million for the larger types. The OP likely has not considered other potential hidden costs since along with the initial capital needed to purchase the aircraft, the cost of maintaining an efficient crew, expensive fuel, insurance policies, and maintenance is way beyond the reach of the nation?s coffers,? said the resolution.
It added that Malacanang has not set standards on how far flights the jet will take and how many executives will be on each trip. Light jets that travel on one tank for about 2,000 miles can carry up to eight executives and cost around $6 million; a mid-size jet can carry up to 10 executives and will cost about $15 million and can travel up to 3,000 miles; and large executive jets can carry up to 15 executives to travel comfortably, cost about $30 million, and can travel more than 4,000 miles per trip, according to the resolution.
