A LEADER of the House of Representatives on Tuesday defended Congress’ decision to restore confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President, the Department of Education and the P10 billion of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) in the proposed 2023 General Appropriations Act.
House Committee on Appropriations Chairman Zaldy S. Co said the decision of the lower house to restore DepEd’s confidential and intelligence funds aims to “secure the future of our children.”
“That’s the decision of the House because it would be more difficult if our children are recruited and led to the wrong path. So we want the DepEd to spearhead, we want them to secure the future of our children,” he added.
Co, who is also the representative of Ako Bicol Party-list, said schoolchildren—especially in the provinces—are being targeted for recruitment by rebel groups.
“Our young students should be taught early in life about the perils of joining illegal organizations whose aim is to overthrow the duly-constituted government,” he added.
The House has similar reasons for restoring the budget of the anti-insurgency group NTF-ELCAC.
“Many of those in cities and urban areas do not appreciate efforts to end the insurgency. But those in the countryside are sick and tired of oppressive revolutionary taxes, destruction of infrastructure, power lines and cell towers. Often, poor farmers and fishefolk are even forced to give the food on their table to the rebels,” Co added.
For these reasons, Co said the work of NTF-ELCAC to help end insurgency and improve barangays in the countryside is much appreciated. “That’s why we supported the restoration of the agency’s budget. They play an indispensable role in rural communities,” he said.
As this developed, Co urged the NTF-ELCAC to hasten implementation of its projects this year. He noted that only 2 percent had been completed or still ongoing, while 98 percent were either in the procurement stage or not even there.
“We agreed to restore the budget, but we instructed the agency to be more efficient. We want them to utilize the funds… We’re thinking of other ways on how to make it more efficient and more effective,” Co said.
He said one suggestion is for NTF-ELCAC to partner with agencies like the Department of Public Works and Highways which has the expertise in handling procurement and project implementation.
Last Monday, the House of Representatives led by Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez swiftly ratified the bicameral conference committee report on House Bill 4488 or the 2023 General Appropriations Bill. It provides for a P5.268-trillion national budget for fiscal year 2023.