Poe says she’s not in favor of ‘zero budget’ call for PCOO

Senator Grace Poe. INQUIRER.net / CATHY MIRANDA

Senator Grace Poe said she is against the call for a “zero budget” allocation for the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) after the controversial federalism video of Communications Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson.

Poe was reacting to the call made by Akbayan Representative Tom Villarin, highlighting the lewd video featuring Uson and a pro-Duterte blogger.

“Kahit papaano ang lahat ng ahensiya ay may nagtatrabaho diyan at hindi mo masasabi na lahat ng nagtatrabaho diyan ay hindi ginagawa ang kanilang responsibilidad. Mayroon din naman talagang tapat sa kanilang tungkulin, at hindi din naman dapat i-zero budget,” Poe told reporters on Tuesday.

(Somehow, all government agencies are still working and you can’t say that all those working there aren’t doing their jobs. There are still some who are doing their duties, and they shouldn’t have a zero budget.)

READ: Villarin wants #ZeroBudgetPCOO after Mocha’s ‘Pepedederalismo’ jingle

However, the senator was cool to PCOO’s proposed P1.41-billion budget for 2019 which higher that its previous appropriation.

“Pero sa tingin ko naman, maluho rin naman na isipin natin na uunahan pa natin ang ibang mga ahensiya na direktang nakakatulong, at uunahin natin ang isang ahensiya na hindi naman sikmura ang tinututukan,” Poe said.

(But I think that it’s too luxurious to think of going before the other agencies that are directly helping other, and prioritizing an agency that’s not going after the root of the problem.)

While she understands the role of communication, Poe insisted that Malacañang’s communication department should justify its proposed budget.

“Ngayon, importante ang komunikasyon pero anong klaseng komunikasyon? Ito ba ay maasahan natin na maging maayos at patas? Kailangan nilang i-eksplika kasi ang P100 milyon na taas ay hindi maliit na bagay. P100 million, ang dami nang matutulungan niyan, sa healthcare pati sa education,” she said.

(Nowadays, communication is important but what kind of communication? Can we trust it to be correct and fair? They need to explain because a P100 million increase is not a small thing. That amount of money can help many people, through healthcare and education.) /je