Drilon wants more cash aid in 2022 budget

Sen. Franklin Drilon. Senate PRIB file photo

MANILA, Philippines — The 2022 national budget should reflect the public’s struggles during the pandemic by going light on the security sector, including its anti-insurgency program, but heavy on cash aid and social services, according to Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon.

Drilon on Monday called for a bigger budgetary share for social services in the yet-to-be-submitted P5-trillion national expenditure program for 2022 and a reappropriation of defense and military funds to emergency financial assistance for sectors badly hit by COVID-19-induced lockdowns.

“The continuing COVID-19 pandemic, growing budget deficit and skyrocketing national debt should make the government reconsider its defense spending for 2022, including the allocation for its heavily-criticized anti-insurgency funds,” Drilon said in a statement.

Negative growth

For three fiscal years beginning in 2018, the social services sector suffered a negative growth, from a 3 percent growth in 2017 to -2.4 in 2018, -0.3 in 2019, -1.1 in 2020, according to the senator

It slightly increased by only 0.5 percent in 2021, he noted.

In contrast, except in 2019 when it decreased by -1 percent, the share of the defense sector went on an upward trend, he noted. It increased by 0.2 percent in 2018, 0.4 percent in 2020 and 0.2 percent in 2021, “when the country is still reeling from the impact of the pandemic,” Drilon said.

“It cannot be the norm again next year, if we want to fast-track our economic recovery and lift our people out of poverty, hunger and unemployment,” he said.

“Because of our limited resources, the government needs to downsize its defense spending for next year in favor of the much-needed ‘ayuda’ and other social and health services,” he added.

“Even if the national budget kept growing over the years, the percent share of social services to the national budget didn’t grow along with it and has in fact suffered decreases,” Drilon observed.

Redirect funds

He said the “extraordinarily large funds” that would be allotted to the security sector in 2022 should instead be redirected or given to social services sector like health, education and labor.

Drilon was referring to the budget of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac), which he earlier said could increase from P30 billion to P40 billion, from its current P19.2 billion.

“We must increase the budgets of the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Department of Health to beef up our COVID-19 spending,” he said.

“We need to include a substantial amount of funds for ‘ayuda’ in the next year’s budget and vaccine procurement,” he said.

He also urged for an additional budget for the Department of Labor and Employment to address unemployment and the Department of Education to strengthen the educational system.

“We need to include a substantial amount of funds for vaccine procurement, ‘ayuda’ specifically for poor households, workers, PUV drivers, and students struggling with distance learning and support for micro, small and medium enterprises in next year’s budget,” he said.