Senate Minority Leader Frank Drilon on Tuesday questioned the government’s spending priorities amid the pandemic and criticized why the country’s controversial anti-insurgency program is given priority in the release of the budget amid tight government resources.
Citing the data from the Department of Budget and Management, Drilon said the total fund releases for the National Task Force to End Local Communism and Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) has already reached P10.68 billion as of April 2021.
NTF-ELCAC has a total appropriation of P19 billion under the 2021 General Appropriations Act and of which, P16.4 billion will go to its Barangay Development Program wherein each of over 800 barangays will receive P20 million.
Drilon said that while the country’s cash aid of P8,000 for private sector workers remains a proposal and unfunded, NTF-ELCAC has received a total of P10.68 billion and of which, P7.54 billion was released in April alone at the height of strong criticisms against the task force’s red-tagging of community pantry organizers.
“Bakit po parang nagmadaling ilabas ang budget? Bakit yung pondo sa Marawi rehabilitation mabagal ang paglabas ng pondo? Saan po gagamitin itong P10.68 bilyon?” he said.
“Defeating the virus and addressing the effects of the pandemic such as unemployment and hunger should be our priority,” Drilon said.
“There are 62 percent Filipino households who experienced hunger due to COVID-19 pandemic. There are 4.4 million Filipinos who lost jobs in 2020. Yet, the government is giving priority to NTF-ELCAC’s anti-insurgency program rather than use the funds to expand ayuda, buy vaccines and feed the poor,” he said.
Source: Latest Politics News Today (Politics.com.ph)
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