Editorial march 9 – 15, 2008 ISSUE

Watching The 2008 National Budget

The 2008 national budget of the Philippines was signed into law this week in the midst of corruption issues against Malacañang Palace. The budget bill was signed simultaneously while the joint Senate Investigating Committees of Blue Ribbon, Trade and Industry, and National Defense continues its hearing on the National Broadband Network which allegedly involved the “greedy group”. The NBN Scandal has branched out to the sovereignty issue specifically on the Spratly group of islands.

The 2008 national budget amounts to P1.227 trillion, an investment according to Gloria Macapagal Arroyo for the Filipino people and to fight corruption in the Philippines. This is an acceptance that her government is graft laden.

It was found in the results of regional poll of expatriate businessmen, that the Philippines is the most corrupt nation among 13 Asian economies. An expatriate is a person from another country doing business in places other than his homeland. A good example is a Briton doing business in the Philippines.

According to the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC), the “Philippines is a sad case when it comes to corruption”. It is no worse than countries such as Indonesia and Thailand. However, corruption in the Philippines has become politicized and discussed openly in the media.

In the study, the Philippines scored 9 out of possible 10 points in a grading system PERC used. Under that grading system, a score of 10 points is worst in the incidents of corruption while a zero (0) score is the best score, no corruption case.

With this case of the Philippines in the field of corruption, will this P1.227 trillion national budget for 2008 matter and will it make a difference in the lives of the 87 million Filipinos? To illicit a yes answer in this age of corrupt officials is extremely difficult. It is like a rich man who strongly wishes to pass through an eye of a needle but cannot until he dies and be pulverized.

The implementation of this gargantuan amount of 2008 national budget demands watching by eagle eyed men. For instance, will the Department of Education continue buying computers at P249,970 per set which brand and quality is available at not more than P30,000 a set in the open market?

The top 10 government agencies which must be watched as they got the top 10 highest allocations are:

1. Department of Education – P140.24 billion;

2. DPWH – P94.73 billion;

3. Dept. of Interior and Local Govt. – P53.25 billion

4. Department of National Defense – P50.93 billion;

5. Department of Agriculture – P24.71 billion;

6. DOTC – P20.82 billion;

7. Department of Health – 19.77 billion

8. State Universities and Colleges – P19.64 billion;

9. Judiciary – P10.28 billion; and

10. Department of Foreign Affairs – P10.19 billion.

According to the proponents of the 2008 budget, it is an investment, essential building blocks of the Philippines’ education, economy, and environment. This deserves watching. Watching your taxes, watching your money. /MP