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SEN. Pia
Cayetano-Sebastian on Wednesday revived a move to repeal
the Marcos-era automatic appropriations law
(Presidential Decree 1177), saying it is the best way to
curb the “morally improper” behest loans granted to
known cronies of the deceased dictator.
It was
made in the wake of a proposal by PDP-Laban Rep. Teodoro
Locsin Jr. of Makati City for the House of
Representatives to reopen all behest loans to public
scrutiny by summoning the Presidential Commission on
Good Government (PCGG), the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas,
the Department of Finance and other involved agencies to
submit a detailed list of behest borrowers, identifying
not just their corporate shells but also their
stockholders, nominees and beneficiaries and how they
were covered up with subsequent restructuring.
In a
statement, Cayetano-Sebastian asserted that repealing PD
1177 would give lawmakers more power to scrutinize
payments for debts incurred by the Executive branch,
particularly those tainted with irregular deals.
“Beyond
conducting inquiries into questionable foreign-assisted
projects, Congress should have more say on how public
funds are being spent for debt servicing which is
automatically appropriated in the national budget every
year, and therefore cannot be touched by lawmakers,”
Cayetano added.
Right
now, she said, there seems to be no other deterrent for
the government, creditors and private groups to connive
and come up with such horrible deals, the consequence of
which is that the cost of these are just added on to our
national debt with the automatic appropriations law in
place.”
She
recalled that the conditions at the height of the debt
crisis in the 1980s which led to enactment of the
automatic appropriations law may no longer be valid
today.
“What
may be the conditions then may no longer be valid.
Industrialized countries and multilateral financial
institutions have in fact moved to write off the
illegitimate debts of least developed countries in
recent years,” she pointed out.
The
senator also voiced concern over the dwindling budget
allocation for social services amid reports of
corruption in foreign-assisted projects.
She
cited the $223-million loan for the national road
project that was recently suspended by the World Bank,
the canceled NBN-ZTE deal, the Telepono sa Barangay
Project, and the North Luzon Railway project, among
others.
Besides
empowering Congress to initiate a check- and-balance
system over behest loans, she said, there should also be
a parallel move by the Executive branch to file cases in
any of these overpriced projects that have been
accumulating in the last few decades,” she said.
“This
will send the clear message to our creditors that this
practice will not be tolerated, and it will also make it
easier to distinguish between an illegitimate and
legitimate debt,” she said.
Cayetano-Sebastian
said identifying these so-called “illegitimate” debts
would allow Congress to free up public funds for social
services and help the country meet its commitments to
reduce poverty and improve education and health programs
under the Millennium Development Goals. |
