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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'An oversight': Recto frowns over mere P80-M military budget for Pag-asa Island

'An oversight': Recto frowns over mere P80-M military budget for Pag-asa Island

Published Sep 2, 2023 08:08 am

At A Glance

  • House Deputy Speaker and Batangas 6th district Rep. Ralph Recto rued on Saturday, Sept.2 the relative pittance that the government has set aside in the proposed 2024 national budget for improving military facilities in Pag-asa Island. 

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House Deputy Speaker and Batangas 6th district Rep. Ralph Recto (Facebook)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

House Deputy Speaker and Batangas 6th district Rep. Ralph Recto rued on Saturday, Sept.2 the relative pittance that the government has set aside in the proposed 2024 national budget for improving military facilities in Pag-asa Island. 

Recto said only two projects worth a combined P80 million has been listed as itemized expenditures in the P5.768-trillion National Expenditure Program (NEP) for next year. 

The first is the construction of an “igloo-style ammunition storage”, while the second is for the construction of a two-story military barracks. 

"Who would have thought that the government will be proposing a budget that small for a frontline military outpost in the middle of an area rife with tension?" an incredulous Recto asked. 

"If P80 million is all there is, then we will be spending more for road guardrails than on an island that guards our interest in the disputed area," said the former Senate President Pro Tempore. 

He said the budget for the Pag-asa Island military projects are small compared to the P15.9-billion feasibility studies fund of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and P15.2-billion fund for road safety and maintenance projects via the Motor Vehicle  User’s Charge (MVUC). 

"The P80 million is an oversight that could be remedied by a budget errata sent to Congress upon the President’s order, which proposes a higher amount, or when faced with executive inaction, Congress can do it on its own," Recto said. 

The House of Representatives, through the Committee on Appropriations, is currently deliberating on 2024 NEP, which is the precursor to the national budget. 

"If there are indeed more funds intended for Pag-asa (for sunk-into-ground land improvements  and not movable equipment like aircraft and ships) then itemize them in the national budget so that the nation will be assured  that our foothold in that area, that unsinkable aircraft carrier of ours, is constantly maintained," he House official said. 

Recto further said: "Our occupation of Pag-asa is unchallenged. Conventional wisdom dictates that we transform  an island we physically possess into a bulwark." 

"Intruders in the area are expanding their real estate, through massive reclamation, while ours is in danger of shrinking through coastal erosion," he said.

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