Philippine Vice-President Jejomar C. Binay AP FILE PHOTO
The spokesperson for Vice President Jejomar Binay hit the purported failure of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) under Mar Roxas to reduce the crime rate despite its hefty budget.
Joey Salgado, the media affairs head of the Office of the Vice President, also scored the fat budget allocation to favored agencies like the DILG.
Roxas is a partymate of President Benigno Aquino III. Roxas gave way for Aquino to run for president in the 2010 elections.
Roxas then lost to Binay in the vice presidential race.
“The DILG budget has increased by 30.2 percent under the current [a]dministration. The budget of the Office of the DILG Secretary has soared from P2.8 billion in 2010 to P16 billion in 2015. Unfortunately, this whopping increase of 471% in the budget of the Office of the DILG Secretary has not steadily reduced the crime rate,” Salgado said in a recent statement.
“Tamang paggamit ng pondo sa karapat-dapat na ahensiya ang mangyayari, hindi ang pamumudmod ng pondo sa kapartido,” he added.
(Correct use of funds to appropriate agencies should happen, not distribution of funds to partymates.)
According to the General Appropriations Act from the years 2010 to 2014, Roxas saw his allocated budget for his office increased to P10.132 billion in 2014, from P7.459 billion in 2013, P3.814 billion in 2012, P2.575 billion in 2011, and P2.363 billion in 2010.
Meanwhile, the proposed budget for the DILG Secretary’s office under the National Expenditure Program amounted to P13.585 billion for the year 2016.
Salgado cited the Philippine National Police (PNP) data which showed 885,445 crime incidents from January to June, up from the 603,085 incidents in the same period last year.
However, PNP spokesman Chief Supt. Wilben Mayor had corrected the figures and said the total crime volume actually went down to 509,924 incidents from 602,449.
READ: Crime rate actually went down, PNP explains
The inaccurate data and outdated figures from the Binay camp did not stop Salgado from hitting Roxas, this time for implementing under his agency certain housing, road and water service projects which do not fall under the mandate of the DILG.
From these projects, Roxas were allotted billions from the administration, Salgado added.
“Walang teknikal na kaalaman sa pagpapatayo ng pabahay, mga daan, at patubig pero ang DILG ay may Informal Settlers Families Shelter Program, Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan (PAMANA) Program, at Sagana at Ligtas na Tubig (SALINTUBIG) Program. At mas ito ang binigyang oras ni Secretary Mar Roxas,” Salgado said.
(The DILG has no technical knowledge about structuring houses, roads and water systems but it has Informal Settlers Families Shelter Program, Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan (PAMANA) Program, and Sagana at Ligtas na Tubig (SALINTUBIG) Program. And these were given much time by Secretary Mar Roxas.)
Salgado attributed the prevalence of criminality to purported inattention of Roxas, whose department he accused of being “out of focus.”
“Isa sa itinuturong pangunahing dahilan sa pagtaas ng krimen ay hindi pagbibigay atensiyon sa pangunahing trabaho ng DILG. Busy ang DILG sa mga bagay na hindi naman kasama sa kanilang trabaho,” he said.
(One of the primary reasons for crime increase is the inattention of the DILG to its fundamental duties. The DILG is busy with the things not included in its responsibilities.)
Roxas could not yet be reached for comment as of this writing.
Roxas resigned from his post after he declared his bid to run against Binay for the presidency in 2016.
Salgado said under a Binay presidency, each department would have clear-cut mandate.
“Bawat departamento ay may kanya-kanyang mandato. Malinaw naman ang mandato ng DILG na pangalagaan ang kapayapaan at kaayusan at tiyakin ang kaligtasan ng publiko,” he said.
(Each department has its own mandate. The DILG’s mandate is clear, that is, to protect peace, orderliness and to ensure public safety.)
READ: Top LP exec named new DILG secretary
During the multimedia forum of the Inquirer Group on Tuesday, President Aquino confirmed the appointment of Western Samar Rep. Mel Senen Sarmiento as Interior Secretary.
Sarmiento, the Liberal Party’s Secretary General, was Calbayog City mayor from 2001 to 2010. He was vice mayor from 1992 to 1995.
He was also secretary general for the League of Cities of the Philippines from 2004 to 2010. Marc Jayson Cayabyab/RAM