Iloilo 1st district Rep. Janette Garin (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)

Deputy Majority Leader and Iloilo 1st district Rep. Janette Garin said Congress should investigate the enormous P7.2-trillion debt accumulated by the Duterte administration during the Covid-19 pandemic in order to determine how and where the funds were used.

“Government loans is a very serious matter. Why? Sinangla mo kasi yung future ng iyong mga anak at mga apo (because you pawned off the future of your children and grandchildren) and sometimes it's even more than that,” Garin said in a press conference on Wednesday, Aug. 20.

“Loans should be dealt sacredly. Kasi minsan, madaling umutang pagkatapos bahala na si Batman sa bayaran (Because sometimes, it's easy to get into debt and just leave it up to Batman to take care of the payment),” she quipped.

Garin, a former Department of Health (DOH) secretary, particularly flagged the amount borrowed to procure vaccines against Covid-19. “Again, a no-no,” she said.

Presidential Adviser on Poverty Alleviation Larry Gadon earlier said that the Duterte administration was to blame for the country’s present debt burden—which now stands at over P15 trillion—because of the whopping P7.2-trillion loan it made in just six years.

Gadon said the debt accumulated by the previous administration was higher than the P6.6-trillion debt incurred from President Manuel L. Quezon to President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, in a span of 89 years.

“So why is it important to talk about this? Kasi hindi pwedeng may blanket authority lang ‘yan just like what we saw in the pandemic. Nung pandemic kasi parang naging excuse na umutang kaliwa't kanan,” said Garin.

(Because there can't be a blanket authority just like what we saw in the pandemic. The pandemic was like used as an excuse to borrow left and right.)

The Iloilo lawmaker cited the huge debt as the biggest obstacle to the country’s development, noting that it is uncertain whether the public from such borrowed funds.

Since the debt servicing in the national budget is an automatic appropriation, the amount borrowed by the Duterte administration is not subject to congressional adjustments.

“Dito kasi, ‘pag umutang ka at ang guarantor ay ang Pilipinas, meron tayong automatic debt servicing na tinatawag. Ibig sabihin, gustuhin mo man o hindi, babayaran mo ‘yong utang na ‘yan. Kinakaltas yan sa budget ng Pilipinas,” Garin noted.

(Because here, when you borrow and the guarantor is the Philippines, we have something that is called an automatic debt servicing. That means, whether you like it or not, you will pay that debt. It will be deducted from the budget of the Philippines.)

As such, the congresswoman noted that a future investigation should be in aid of legislation——so Congress can craft a measure to identity where and what are the parameters when the government borrows.

Lanao del Sur 1st district Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong agreed with Garin’s suggestion, and noted that a national policy against excessive borrowing should be put in place in case another national or global emergency occurs again in the future.

“I think we also need to revisit how can we actually enter into a loan whenever there is a declaration of state of emergency,” added Adiong.

“Wala namang problema sa pag-uutang (There is no problem with borrowing) as long as we also have a system where the country can make good of debt payments,” he said.