Here are the Makabayan solons' issues on 2023 proposed national budget

Aug 25, 2022 12:41 PM

Lawmakers of Makabayan bloc have voiced out some of their gripes on the 2023 National Expenditure Program (NEP).

(From left to right) Kabataan Party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel, ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro, and Gabriela Women’s Party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas (Makabayan photo)

Read: https://mb.com.ph/2022/08/22/house-receives-2023-national-budget-proposal-here-are-the-top-5-priority-sectors/

ACT-Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro said that the 2023 NEP had exhibited misprioritizations

“Napansin natin yung mga misprioritization. Alam ng Marcos administration na galing tayo sa pandemya at hanggang ngayon nararanasan pa rin natin. Inaasahan natin na mas mataas sana ang budget sa health, para sa education, at syempre para sa Department of Agriculture (DA) (We noticed the misprioritizations. The Marcos administration knows we're coming from a pandemic and we're still feeling its effects. We were hoping for a higher budget for health, education, and for the DA),” Castro said during a Makabayan press conference on Thursday, Aug. 25.

“Although tumaas naman ang education budget, halimbawa ang DepEd (Department of Education) from P500 billion naging P667 billion. Sa education sector as a whole naging P852.8-billion–inaasahan natin sana na dahil meron tayong sukatan internationally na six percent dapat ng GDP (gross domestic product) dapat ito ay P1-trillion (While the education budget increased, DepEd for example went from P500 billion to P667 billion. Education as a whole went up to P852.8 billion–we were hoping that because there is an international standard of six percent of the GDP, it should have been P1 trillion),” she added.

As per the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) Education 2030 Framework, four to six percent of a country’s GDP should go to education.

Outside of education, she said that the agriculture budget was too small; she also questioned the proposed allocation increases for the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and even for the Office of the Vice President (OVP) which was granted P2.3-billion in the 2023 proposal versus its 2022 budget of P713 million.

Gabriela Women’s Party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas roasted the budget increases for the Department of National Defense (DND) and the cuts made to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Philippine General Hospital (PGH).

“May P240.29 billion na budget ang DND para sa susunod na taon. P19.39 billion increase ito o halos 9 percent na pagtaas. Bahagi nito ang 30 percent budget increase para sa AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) General headquarters (The DND saw a P240.29 billion increase for 2023–a P19.39-billion or 9 percent increase. Part of this is a 30 percent increase to the AFP General headquarters),” Brosas said.

"Ang Philippine National Police (PNP), may P191.49 billion na budget for 2023 o additional na P800 million mula ngayong taon. Patuloy ang pagpondo sa anti-illegal drugs strategy na aabot ng P646.27 million para sa susunod na taon (The PNP received a proposed P191.49-billion budget for 2023 or an P800-million increase versus this year. The government continues to fund the anti-illegal drugs strategy that will see P646.27-million budget in the next year),” she continued.

“Habang patuloy ang paglobo ng pondo para sa DND at DILG (Department of Interior and Local Government)...may P8-billion budget cut sa DSWD, at P823 million budget cut naman sa Philippine General Hospital (While the budgets of the DND and DILG continue to inflate...an P8-billion budget cut was made to the DSWD and a P823-million cut to PGH),” Brosas concluded.

Kabataan Party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel slammed the cuts made to state universities and colleges (SUCs) and the PGH.

“Sa 2023 proposed budget ni Marcos Jr., Nakakabahala na sa bahagi ng mga SUCs ay may P10.9 billion na kabuuhang budget cut silang mararanasan. Kasama dito ang cut sa UP (University of the Philippines) System kung saan nakapailalim ang budget ng PGH (In the 2023 proposed budget of Marcos Jr., it is worrying that P10.9 billion was cut from SUCs. Included here is the UP System budget which is under the PGH budget),” Manuel said.

“Ang majority ng bawas ay makikita sa Capital Outlay na mahalaga sanang component ng budget para sa pagtatayo ng ligtas na mga pasilidad para sa balik-eskwela ng mga mag-aaral, guro at staff (The majority of the cuts are seen in the capital outlay which is an important component of the budget for the construction of safe facilities for students, teachers, and staff to return to school),” he added.