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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'Very positive step': Group welcomes Senate's rechannelling of confidential funds 

'Very positive step': Group welcomes Senate's rechannelling of confidential funds 

Published Nov 24, 2022 11:49 am

A group of education workers on Thursday, Nov. 24, lauded the move of the Senate to rechannel millions in confidential funds to other items in its approved version of the 2023 budget.

Members of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) staged a picket protest in front of the House of Representatives in Quezon City on Sept.14, 2022, to demand the doubling of the education budget as Congress hears the proposed 2023 budget for the DepEd. (NOEL PABALATE / MANILA BULLETIN)

“The Senate’s move is a very positive step towards our goal of correcting the gross misallocations in the 2023 budget,” said Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines Chairperson Vladimer Quetua said in a statement.

The group lauded the Senate’s move to reallocate P152 million confidential funds to other items --- including the slashing of the P150 million confidential funds of the Department of Education (DepEd) by P100 million.

READ:

https://mb.com.ph/2022/09/15/deped-urged-to-rechannel-p150-m-confidential-funds-to-learning-needs/

“We will be watching closely the bicameral conference committee meeting on the 2023 budget to ensure that such changes will stay,” Quetua said.

ACT said that it will also push for the rechannelling of more confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) to “urgent needs in education and other social services” such as the P4.5 billion confidential and intelligence funds for the Office of the President and the P500 million confidential fund of the Office of the Vice President in 2023.

The group also called on the members of the bicameral conference committee to “get their priorities straight.”

“Any survey shows that our people’s top problem now is hunger and poverty amid low wages and rising prices of goods,” Quetua said.

However, he lamented that the allocated funds in 2023 for aid to the poor, the revival of the local economy, job creation, and free and high-quality social services are “severely lacking.”

“Dapat lang na sinupin ang pera ng taumbayan, ilipat sa serbisyo ang mga pondong naaaksaya sa mga gawaing hindi kapaki-pakinabang sa mamamayan (The people's money should be diverted, the funds that are wasted on activities that are not useful to the people should be transferred to the service),” Quetua said.

RELATED STORY:

https://mb.com.ph/2022/09/30/depeds-confidential-funds-meant-to-protect-learners-says-spox/

Related Tags

deped education 2023 budget Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines Confidential funds
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