Zarate blasts gov’t’s P388-B ‘war budget’ for 2020

Camp Aguinaldo FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — House Minority Deputy Leader and Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate denounced Monday the Duterte administration’s proposed 2020 national budget over its P388 billion “war budget.”

Of the administration’s P4.1 trillion National Expenditure Program for next year, some P388.199 billion was earmarked for the programs that would allegedly “enable this ‘kill, kill, kill’ mentality of the government,” according to the opposition lawmaker.

Among the projects included in said fund were the Armed Forces of the Philippines modernization program (P25 billion); Department of the Interior and Local Government’s anti-illegal drugs strategy (P110 million); conduct of intelligence and counterintelligence operations under the Philippine National Police (P1.1 billion); and police patrol operations and other related confidential activities against subversives, and crime syndicates (P142.5 billion).

“The 2020 proposed national budget is a war budget. It apparently wants to fund even more repression, the worsening state of impunity, while rewarding human rights violators,” Zarate said in a statement.

“It goes on to say that this would entail more budget for the PNP and the AFP by giving them more personnel and added benefits, and, more funds for the bloody campaign on drugs, anti-insurgency wars and their witch-hunt against progressives, leftists and critics Where is peace in this equation?” he added.

The fund, the congressman said, is also on top of the P4.5 billion confidential and intelligence fund for the Office of the President in 2020.

READ: Duterte wants intel, confidential funds almost doubled in 2020

Zarate said these appropriations “would be of better use” if allocated for programs “addressing the social ills that incite armed conflict” such as free land distribution, a living wage, and national industrialization.

The Department of Budget and Management said 4.8 percent of the proposed expenditure plan was allocated for defense (195.6 billion), while 37.2 percent was earmarked for social services (P1.525 trillion), 28.9 percent for economic services (P1.184 trillion), 18 percent for general public services (P734.5 billion), 11 percent for debt burden (P451 billion).

Among the executive departments, the Department of National Defense (DND) also has the fifth-largest budget for next year (P189 billion).

The government also said it would be prioritizing peace and national security programs with P70.6 billion allocated for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, P184.9 billion for PNP and P38.7 billion for the Judiciary.