Ako Bicol party-list Representative Raul Angelo Bongalon (File photo from Bangsamoro Transition Authority Parliament’s Facebook page)
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Imee Marcos should be held accountable for her proposed budget realignments in 2023.
House Assistant Majority Leader and Ako Bicol party-list Representative Raul Angelo Bongalon claimed on Wednesday that Marcos’ action supposedly deprived 4.3 million poor Filipinos of cash assistance through the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).
He emphasized the need to look into possible side effects of alleged Marcos’ decision to divert funds allotted for the 4Ps program to other government social amelioration programs.
“Wala ho tayong plano na tigilan itong sa 4Ps issue,” Bongalon said in a statement.
(We don’t plan to drop this 4Ps issue.)
Due to the senator’s realignment in the 2023 Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) budget, Bongalon decried that the program’s budget deficit now stands at roughly P9 billion.
He pointed out that if the P13 billion had remained allocated to the 4Ps in the 2023 budget, it could have been sufficient to fill up the existing deficit.
In response, Marcos said the matter has been addressed repeatedly.
On February 21, she denied allegations that her proposed budget realignments deprived beneficiaries of the 4Ps program.
Marcos noted that in September 2022 hearings for the 2023 budget, DSWD supposedly admitted that only 45 percent of the 4Ps budget had been spent.
The figure is said to be based on the financial reports of the department.
Marcos admitted to having proposed slashing the P13 billion fund and had it realigned to other “quickly implementable” DSWD projects.
She said the move was meant to avoid the “threatened return” of unspent 4Ps allotment.
The fund was diverted to projects such as “supplemental feeding, Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services, Quick Response Fund for disasters, and Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation.”
Bongalon, on the other hand, expressed dismay over the justification of the senator.
He said Marcos may have been committing “potential alleged misuse of funds for purported political gain.”
He suspects her actions “may be influenced by her reelection campaign.”
“But then again, ang pinakapunto ho natin dito kasi is that, it would be unfair and unreasonable na i-slash mo ang budget ng isang programa at ilalagay mo sa ibang programa,” Bongalon explained.
(But then again, our main point is that it would be unfair and unreasonable that you slash the budget of one program and put it in another one.)
“At ang masama pa ho dito e nagagamit nya po sa kanyang pag-ikot,” he said.
(Worse, she is using this as she goes around.)
“Siguro bilang… dahil sa re-eleksyonista si Senadora Imee. So, ‘yun po ang ginagamit nya,” Bongalon concluded.
(Maybe as a… because Senator Imee is a re-electionist. So that is what she uses.)