Bautista to constituents: Give your votes to Roxas as ‘birthday gift’

Liberal Party standard-bearer Mar Roxas speaks before his supporters in Payatas, Quezon City. JULLIANE LOVE DE JESUS

Vowing to campaign hard for Liberal Party standard-bearer Mar Roxas, Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista asked his constituents to give their “birthday gift” to the presidential candidate–their votes for Roxas in the upcoming elections.

“My birthday is on May 12. President Roxas’ is on May 13. The election is on May 9 (next year). Ngayon, i-regalo natin ang boto natin sa darating na eleksyon kay Presidente Mar,” said Bautista in a brief message before the yellow-wearing supporters of Roxas on Monday.

Roxas, Bautista, and Quezon City Rep. Winnie Castelo went to Barangay (village) Payatas to inaugurate the multipurpose hall at “Bistekville I,” one of the QC mayor’s housing projects.

It may be recalled that in October, Bautista backed out from the ruling party’s senate slate to seek reelection.

In return, Roxas has a gift to Payatas residents: the “walang iwanan” fund or the P100-billion poverty alleviation fund included in the platform of Roxas and his running mate Leni Robredo should they win in the 2016 elections.

Roxas said the walang iwanan fund, which he called “karapatan” fund in previous interviews, will be like the Department of Interior and Local Government’s “Bottom-up Budgeting (BUB) on steroids.”

“There are 120,000 residents in Payatas. (The walang iwanan fund) is very simple–P1,000 times 120,000. Meaning, the national government, through the Mayor and city council, will give P120 million to the residents of an area,” Roxas told the residents.

What’s good about the fund, according to Roxas, is that it’s up to the people how they would want their budget to be spent.

“Ang pinakamaganda dyan ang magpapasya kung saan gagastusin ay kayo, dahil kayo ang aming boss,” he said.

But the walang iwanan fund will remain a platform in the event Roxas loses in the elections next year.

“Kung sakaling palarin tayo, kukuha tayo ng P100 billion sa P800 billion capital expenditure ng bansa at ilalaan natin sa local initiatives. Kumbaga this is BUB on steroids, BUB expanded, same mechanism, same methodology,” said Roxas in an ambush interview.

He said the fund will follow the participative approach of the BUB. The grassroots program of the DILG started in 2013 under the watch of Roxas.

It would also be done with the cooperation of the church, which would check the implementation of the local government projects.