PRESIDENTIAL Adviser on Poverty Alleviation Secretary Larry Gadon yesterday said the country’s debt burden was due to the previous administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s heavy borrowing scheme.
Gadon issued the statement after data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed that debt paid by the national government amounted to around P1.28 trillion in the first six months of this year.
“The Marcos administration is struggling to pay the national government debts. The Marcos administration has taken great strides trying its best to accelerate payments so that debt burdens can be eased up in the future,” Gadon said.
“For the first six months of 2024, the Marcos administration has paid P1.28 trillion of the national debt, which is 35 percent more than the same period in 2023 with a payment of P907 billion. This was due to sound fiscal management by the administration,” Gadon said.
He said the national debt ballooned during the time of former President Duterte.
“For 89 years, spanning 14 presidents from Quezon to Noynoy Aquino, the accumulated debt was only P6.6 trillion. It must be highlighted that the Duterte government borrowed P7.2 trillion in just six years, more than the 14 presidents and 89 years combined,” Gadon said.
“There was pandemic alright and the dole outs. But what about the hounding issues like trillions spent on anomalous procurement on Pharmally vaccines and Remdesivir among others, which turned out to be overpriced,” Gadon added.
“What about the hundreds of billions allocated for the flood control projects that turned out to be a dud? Even President Bongbong was duped into relying on the flood control projects done by the previous administration,” Gadon said.
