PRESIDENTIAL hopeful and Senator Panfilo M. Lacson lamented over the weekend government’s penchant for going on multi-billion borrowing binge in excess of actual needs, even if the entire loans incurred end up unspent.
Lacson, presidential standard bearer of the Partido Reporma party, aired his lament in an “On-line Kumustahan” in Bacolod City last Saturday along with his vice-presidential running mate, Senate President Vicente Sotto III, Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) chairman and their NPC senatorial bets Dr. Minguita Padilla and Monsour del Rosario.
According to Lacson, the Duterte administration is looking to raise around P5-trillion given the urgent need of government for substantial funds to sustain operations and finish projects on line.
“Ngayon dahil kulang ang ating kinikita dahil nga pandemic, kailangan mangutang tayo. Pero ‘pag nangungutang naman tayo siyempre tugunan naman natin, magkano ba ang kinita ng gobyerno?” Lacson laments, noting the penchant to “borrow more than is needed.” [Now, our income is low because of the pandemic, we need to borrow. However, if we borrow, of course we need to pay. But how much does government earn?]
The Senator noted that the borrowing binge is always in excess of what is to reasonably expected.
“Ang inuutang natin laging sobra sa national government. Halimbawa ’yung ating budget deficit, ’yung kakulangan ng ating nakalap na buwis, P685 bilyon. Alam niyo ba ang laging inuutang ng ating national government? P1.2 trillion to P1.3 trillion.” [What we owe is always more than what the national government needs. For example, our budget deficit—the lack of taxes we collected—is P685 billion. Do you know what our national government borrows on the average?]
In turn, Lacson asked: “Ang tanong ko, ’pag meron kaming budget deliberation, bakit laging sobra ’yung ating inuutang, eh ito lang ang kailangan natin?” [My question during budget deliberations is why do we always borrow too much than we need?]
Moreover, he adds that it does not end there.
“Ang hindi nagagamit sa ating pambansang budget, taon-taon ’yung average mula 2010 hanggang 2020 alam ninyo kung magkano? P325.8 billion uutang ka para punan mo ’yung kakulangan ng kinikita ng gobyerno, ’yun pala hindi mo naman gagamitin,” Lacson rues. [What is not used in our national budget, the annual average from 2010 to 2020; do you know how much? We will borrow P325.8 billion to address government’s revenue shortfall, which it will not use.]
Seen as a viable solution, the Lacson-Sotto tandem cited the “Budget Reform Advocacy for Village Empowerment,” or Brave,” which aims to “distribute the budget to barangays, municipalities and provinces to be allocated for projects that would provide livelihood and employment to citizens.”
“How can a poor barangay or municipality rise up when it turns out that there are hundreds of billions in idle funds (for them) that are not being used by the national government?”
The Senator suggests that in planning the budget, concerned government authorities should “enlist the assistance of the barangay chairman, mayor, and governor in consultation because they are the ones who know more the needs and priorities of their communities.”