SEN. Ronald dela Rosa yesterday said the construction of the Department of Justice-proposed state-of-the-art jail facilities may not push through next year since it is not included in the department’s budget under the P5.268-trillion proposed national budget for 2023.
In a radio interview, Dela Rosa said the Executive Department should have included in the DOJ’s proposed budget the P4 billion needed so the construction of the maximum-security prison facility in Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro could start by early next year as proposed by Justice Secretary Crispin Remulla.
He said the DOJ should have convinced the Department of Budget and Management to earmark P4 billion for the construction of the new jail facilities so that more than 2,000 heinous crime convicts can be isolated.
“The funding will be a big problem. The Executive Branch should have included it in the National Expenditure Program so that we, in the Senate, will just approve it, and not burden us where to find funds. They should have included it in the preparation of the national budget if they really want to implement that,” Dela Rosa said.
Remulla, in last Friday’s floor deliberations of the DOJ budget, said the department will need around P4 billion to build a maximum-security prison facility for heinous crimes convicts “who should not be within the reach of people.”
Remulla said the DOJ is coordinating with the Department of Public Works and Highways in finalizing the details of the construction of the prison facility in Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro early next year, which is expected to be finished in one-and-a-half years.
Dela Rosa said while senators can slash portions of the budget in some agencies in favor of another, this may be difficult to do since other agencies are also requesting for an increase in their respective allocations.
He said this will be unfair for other agencies whose budgets will be slashed to favor another.
Asked if he agreed to slash the P10 billion budget for the National Task Force to End Local Communists Armed Conflict in favor of putting up the proposed jail facilities, Dela Rosa said doing so will break the momentum in the government’s war against communist rebels.
He said those who agreed to realign NTF-ELCAC’s budget are those who support the insurgents.
“Let us not touch the NTF-ELCAC budget…The country’s problems on insurgency are almost done. We need to totally finish the problem. If we stop, the momentum will be lost and the problem on insurgency will once again emerge,” he added.
Dela Rossa said he decided to call off the hearing on the killing of broadcaster Percy Lapid since the case is deemed “solved” with the filing of murder cases against suspended BuCor chief Gerald Bantag and others.
“(The Senate investigation) in connection with the killing (of Lapid), I think it will not push through anymore. What we will investigate is when there is already an investigation report from the PNP and NBI. In fact, cases have been filed. If we go on with the probe, the people will think that I am just grandstanding…The case is already solved,” he said.
Dela Rosa, chairman of the committee on public order and dangerous drugs, was supposed to conduct an inquiry last Tuesday but called it off on the request of PNP since cases have been filed against Bantag and his alleged cohorts.
