Lawmakers decided to cut the proposed budget of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) for 2023 due to its poor performance in the past two years, Sen. Risa Hontiveros said on Friday, December 2.
Hontiveros pointed this out after Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Zaldy Co, House appropriations panel chairman, said the NTF-ELCAC was only able to start two percent of its projects in the 2022 budget.
“Natapyasan ng pondo ang NTF-ELCAC dahil dalawang taon nang hindi makapagpakita ng katanggap-tanggap na resulta ang ahensyang ito (NTF-ELCAC’s fund was slashed because this agency has not been able to show acceptable results for two years). The Senate and the House are united in this assessment,” the senator said.
“Kailan ba natapos ang mga project na pinondohan nila? May natitira pa bang pera sa iba’t-ibang lugar? Naabot ba nila ang kanilang mga target? (When were the projects they funded completed? Is there money left in various places? Did they reach their targets)?” added Hontiveros.
The Senate Deputy Minority leader said the NTF-ELCAC must first be able to show that its initiatives worked: “The Filipino people want results.”
“Pagdating sa budget, simple lang: kapag pangit ang performance, babawasan ang pondo, at ibibigay ang pera sa tunay na nangangailangan (When it comes to the budget, it's simple: when the performance is bad, the funds will be reduced, and the money will be given to those who really need it),” she stressed.
Therefore, Hontiveros said the funds should be directed to the implementing agencies, such as Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Health (DOH) and other relevant agencies.
“Bilang taga-bantay ng kaban ng bayan, uunahin din dapat nating bigyang-tulong at pondo ang basic services, major health programs, ayuda para sa mga nabiktima ng kalamidad, at pantawid ng mga pinadapa ng matinding kahirapan (As custodians of the public treasury, we should also give priority to providing assistance and funding to basic services, major health programs, aid for victims of calamities, and relief for those struck by extreme poverty),” the lawmaker stressed.
RELATED STORY: https://mb.com.ph/2022/11/30/house-bicam-panel-vows-to-restore-ntf-elcacs-2023-budget/