House Minority Leader and 4Ps Party-list Rep. Nonoy Libanan used a funny metaphor on Wednesday, Aug. 31 to describe the 2023 budget conundrum of the Department of Tourism (DOT).

Libanan was the first solon to interpellate DOT Secretary Christina Frasco during the agency's budget deliberation before the House Committee on Appropriations.

Before this, Frasco presented to the panel the DOT's plans for next year. This is usual fare during the budget hearings with the departments.

But first, here's how the budget process works: An agency suggests a budget for a given year based on its projected expenditures and projects. This figure is forwarded to the executive branch, which may of may not give them the budget that they're asking for.

The accumulation of these figures are placed under the National Expenditure Program (NEP), or the proposed budget of the entire bureaucracy. The NEP is then scrutinized by the House of Representatives, which has the power to tweak the individual budgets of agencies.

Libanan was curious as to how much money the DOT originally sought for 2023, and therefore asked Frasco.

"Since you asked, I am compelled to answer, as I understand," Frasco replied. "The proposal that we presented to the DBM was the total amount of P12.2 billion."

"And how much was approved?" the minority leader asked in a follow up.

"The approved budget given to us was P3.2 billion," said Frasco. This means that, under the NEP, the DOT will only get roughly 25 percent of the amount it was seeking.

Flabbergasted, Libanan said: "Parang kumuha tayo ng napakagaling na sundalo, napaka-inspiring na sundalo, papupuntahin natin sa giyera tapos bibigyan natin ng itak. Ang mga kalaban niya, mga naka-bazooka (It's like we recruited skilled soldiers, inspiring soldiers, only to send them to the battlefield with machetes. On the other hand, their enemies are armed with bazookas)."

He noted that tourism receipts plummeted from $9.3 billion in 2019 to just $600 million in 2020, or the year the Covid-19 pandemic struck the country.

"Ang napaka-importante ngayon, papano tayo makikipag-compete sa ibang bansa dahil lahat ng turista ngayon, gustong mag-biyahe. Ang ating bansa ay napakaganda (The really important thing now is, how are we going to compete with other countries, especially now that all tourists are itching to travel. Our country is very beautiful)," Libanan said.

He went on to tell the panel the obvious solution to DOT's woes.

"Kaya kailangan siguro dagdagan natin yan . Dagdagan natin kasi kailangan bumangon ang ating bansa. Napaka-klaro po nito, babangon ang ating bansa economically kung maganda ang kanilang funding (I think we need to increase your budget. Let's increase it because our country needs to rise again. It's very clear, our country will rise economically if the DOT has enough funding)."

The independent minority representative in the House, Albay 1st district Rep. Edcel Lagman, agreed with Libanan that the DOT budget should be augmented.

"I have no objection on the proposed budget of the . I fully endorse the same and if the majority would increase the said budget, I will support such welcome move," Lagman said.

Before the budget hearing of the DOT was terminated Wednesday afternoon, Romblon 1st district Rep. Eleandro Jesus Madrona requested to the appropriations panel that it restore the agency's requested budget of P12.2 billion.

Madrona said that so much is expected of the DOT, and yet the budget being given to it isn't that much.

"It is my request as chairman of the Committee on Tourism...it is my request--of course I will not endorse the P3.2 billion budget of DOT. I am endorsing the maximum of P12.2 billion. By then, probably we could expect a lot of success and I'll be very proud as chairman of the Committee on Tourism to see that our tourism industry here will boom," he said.