TWO representatives from Albay — Rep. Edcel Lagman and Rep. Joey Salceda — have aired concern about how the coming administration of presumptive president Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. could find the money to pay for the day-to-day operations of the government, let alone funds to service the country’s huge debts.
Salceda said the incoming administration is set to inherit a debt stock of about P13 trillion as of March and a debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio of 63.5 percent, above the international standard of 60 percent.
Lagman, meanwhile, said Marcos Jr. may not have funds his government will need for its proposed stimulus package as the outgoing Duterte administration has already disbursed 90 percent of the 2022 national budget.
‘… the Filipino people need these roads, bridges, flood control structures, evacuation centers, schools, military facilities, etc. that are itemized in the budget, and the earlier these are completed and put to good use by the people, the better for their lives and economic well being.’
“Unless the new administration can find or create fresh funds, the stimulus package monikered as Bayan Bangon Muli will be mere sloganeering and simply a change in nomenclature from the original Bayanihan,” Lagman said. He added that the last time the nation was under this predicament was when President Noynoy Aquino took over from Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, during which he grudgingly complained that GMA had used up all the money intended for the year.
Lagman finds an unlikely dissenting point from a former colleague in the House, Secretary Roger G. Mercado of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). Mercado pointed out that the Duterte administration is working under the P5.024-trillion 2022 General Appropriations Act (GAA) which was signed by President Duterte on Dec. 30, 2021.
The current budget is equivalent to 23.3 percent of the gross domestic product, and larger by 11.5 percent than the fiscal year 2021 budget.
The DPWH’s budget of P786.6 billion is the second highest among the departments, with the group of the Department of Education, CHED, TESDA and state colleges and universities having a slightly higher allocation of P788.5 billion. The Department of Health and PhilHealth were third with P268.4 billion.
In his own department, Secretary Mercado sees nothing wrong with productively spending the full amount allocated by Congress to the DPWH. He said the Filipino people need these roads, bridges, flood control structures, evacuation centers, schools, military facilities, etc. that are itemized in the budget, and the earlier these are completed and put to good use by the people, the better for their lives and economic well-being.
Mercado believes that the key objectives of the 2022 GAA have been achieved by the administration, which are to build resilience amid the COVID-19 pandemic, continue the legacy of infrastructure development, and sustain the momentum towards recovery.
When Duterte finally leaves Malacañang, his achievements will be measured by how well his Cabinet men made use of their allocations in the 2022 spending measure.
