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DAYS
before the 2008 budget is expected to be approved by the
House of Representatives on second reading, a militant
legislator questioned the proposed P787.1-million
intelligence funds of various government agencies
directly under the Office of the President.
Party-list Rep. Teodoro Casiño of Bayan Muna questioned
the P50-million increases in the confidential and
intelligence expenses for the National Intelligence
Coordinating Council and the unspecified amount for the
Defense department and the Armed Forces.
Noting
that confidential and intelligence funds are not usually
subject to public audit, Casiño said the proposed
P1.227-trillion national budget for 2008 is “a deceptive
and inappropriate budget loaded not with ‘social
paybacks’ but political paybacks for the President and
her political allies.”
“The
President lied to Congress and the public by saying that
the P1.227-trillion national budget for 2008 is a
‘social payback to the people. Whatever increases
education, health, housing and other social services may
get in 2008 are mere drops in the bucket given the huge
amounts needed to make up for years of underbudgeting.
In reality, the budget’s stress is on infrastructure and
internal revenue allotments (IRAs) for local government
units and confidential and intelligence expenses that
can go anywhere at the behest of the Palace,” said
Casiño.
During
the second day of the budget plenary debate on Thursday
that legislators are trying to approve before they
recess on October 13, Casiño said that about P442
billion in the proposed 2008 national budget does
nothing for the people since that amount is in the
“unprogrammed” provisions—mostly for debt repayments—so
that the actual budget deficit would be a “staggering
P328.2 billion to as much as P339.2 billion.”
He
added, “This is actually a budget of political payback
for President Arroyo, who gets at least P787.1 million
(a hefty P50-million increase) for confidential and
intelligence expenses under the Nica, PDEA and PCGG.
This is also a payback for her political allies who are
expected to corner infrastructure and other projects
worth P379.67 billion. This is what you can better call
a social kickback for the politician and military
supporters of the Arroyo administration at the expense
of our people.”
Casiño
said cited potential kickback sources, among others, are
infrastructure, the Internal Revenue Allotment and some
questionable programs in the 2008 budget.
“These
potential sources of kickbacks, especially confidential
and intelligence funds, should be reallocated to
education and health spending for the majority of our
people. But then again, these are part and parcel of
Gloria Arroyo’s discretionary kickbacks that the public
must know about.”
The
House has until October 11 to pass on second reading the
national outlay and the medicines bill before Congress
goes on its first legislative break. It comes back on
November 4. |
