2021 budget boosts ‘pork funds, election war chest’ — Makabayan bloc

In this file photo, Reps. Arlene Brosas, Carlos Isagani Zarate, Sarah Jane Elago, France Castro and Ariel Casilao face the media in Makabayan bloc’s regular press briefing. INQUIRER file photo

MANILA, Philippines — The Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives expressed its “strong objection” Friday over the Congress-approved national budget for next year.

The bloc, which is composed of six lawmakers in the lower chamber, said that the national budget recently ratified by both the Senate and the House “boosts the funds for pork barrel, election war chest and political repression of dissenters and ordinary citizens…”

“Overall, this bicameral-approved version of Duterte’s 2021 budget ensures that more public funds will be funneled to corruption-prone projects and to programs that desperately seek to stifle the opposition in view of the upcoming 2022 elections,” the Makabayan bloc said in its statement presented in a press briefing.

The lawmakers said while there are small increases in the budget for health, education, and social services, these are “pale” compared to the additional funding  given for defense, surveillance and “infrastructure pork programs.”

In the area of defense, the Makabayan lawmaker said the Philippine Army got an additional P800 million budget, while the Air Force and Navy got an increase of P400 million each.

“The budget of fake news peddler National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) gets a P120 million increase, while funds for the National Security Council (NSC) headed by red-tagger Hermogenes Esperon Jr. is increased by 230 percent from P203.6 million to P878.63 million,” the Makabayan lawmakers said.

The Makabayan lawmakers also took a jab at the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) which retained its budget despite calls from the bloc for it to be defunded.

“This could have gone to financing the free COVID-19 tests of 6.36 million Filipinos at P3,000 per test, or to financing the P10,000 cash aid for 1.9 million Filipinos ravaged by the typhoons,” the lawmakers said.

The Makabayan lawmakers likewise questioned the increase in the budget of the  Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) as well as the decrease in the budget for the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

“Funds for DSWD’s protective services for individuals and families in difficult circumstances remain unchanged at P12 billion – despite the expansion of range of beneficiaries to include those affected by COVID-19 and calamities,” the lawmakers said.

The lawmakers also dubbed the P72.5 billion budget allotted for COVID-19 vaccine as “vaccine pork”, saying this is “highly vulnerable to patronage, corruption and electioneering especially as it will be administered in the run-up to the 2022 elections.”

“Despite the Duterte regime’s repeated emphasis on COVID-19 vaccines, almost the entire P72.5 billion COVID-19 vaccination program in the 2021 budget is in the form of lump sum, unprogrammed funds, the spending of which will be subject to President Duterte’s discretion,” the Makabayan lawmakers said.

“Worse, the funds will be sourced via loans from vaccine-manufacturing countries as admitted by Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque,” the group added.

The 2021 national budget now only needs the signature of President Rodrigo Duterte after it was ratified by both chambers of Congress.

JPV