MANILA, Philippines — Senator Cynthia Villar could not help but blurt out an expletive after taking a look at the proposed 2022 budget of the National Tobacco Administration (NTA), an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture.
During the budget hearing of DA on Friday, Villar was heard spewing an expletive after she saw the proposed allocation for the provision of “production technical marketing assistance,” which she feared may be prone to corruption.
“Ang sabi dito [It says here], provision of production technical marketing assistance,” the senator said. “P*tangina, puro nakaw ‘to.”
Someone from the NTA can be heard saying “Hindi Ma’am [No, Ma’am].”
“Tigilan niyo na ko sa mga technical assistance na ‘yan, alam naman natin na drama lang yan ng taon. Naku naman. Diyos ko. Terible,” an irked Villar added.
(Stop with that technical assistance, we all know that’s just for drama. My God. Terrible.)
Senator Cynthia Villar, chairperson of the Senate Committee on agriculture, reacts during the budget hearing for the Department of Agriculture on Oct. 22, 2021. Screengrab from Senate livestream
The senator then suggested that the proposed P100-million allocation for the technical assistance be used as emergency assistance for tobacco farmers instead.
“Mag-emergency cash assistance na lang kayo para malinaw [Just allocate this as emergency cash assistance so it’s clearer]…,” she said.
“Kasi itong technical marketing assistance, naku po…lumilipad ‘to sa hangin e, ayusin niyo na lang ‘yan [Because this technical marketing assistance, this will disappear with the wind, fix this],” she added.
The budget officer of the NTA said they will comply with the request of the senator.
DA Undersecretary Ariel Cayanan also assured Villar that the NTA administrator will be “advised to recast” the budget.
The NTA is proposing a P505-million budget for 2022, P200 million of which is allocated for assistance programs for tobacco farmers.