Bulk Of National Budget Should Go To Poorest Provinces - Bro. Eddie

Bangon Pilipinas lone senatorial candidate Eddie Villanueva on Monday told the government to radically rethink the manner by which it allocates the national budget, saying the poorest provinces should get the bulk of the funds annually appropriated by Congress.

Villanueva said the government should formulate a new policy on the appropriation of public funds, using a poverty index as guide in budget allocation. Under this arrangement, the poorest provinces in the country will receive more from the national budget.

According to the latest available poverty data from the National Statistical Coordination Board, in 2009, 26.5% of Filipinos are poor, living below the poverty threshold. Almost half of the 1,643 cities and municipalities have poverty incidences ranging from 32.1% to 60%, while 67 municipalities have higher than 60% poverty incidence. Seventeen of the 20 poorest municipalities in the Philippines are found in Mindanao.

Villanueva said the proposed budget allocation scheme will allow the “sagigilid” or the poorest, most marginalized sectors in society to have the opportunity to be at par with those who have more in life.“As it stands now, it does not seem to be making any significant impact in alleviating the lives of Filipinos many of whom, unfortunately, continue to belong to the poor and disadvantaged sectors,” Villanueva said.

“The government should rethink the way it is allocating the national budget – giving more to the poorest provinces in the country so that they can have the wherewithal to be at par with the urban centers.”

Villanueva noted that the government has largely failed to effectively allocate the national budget to improve the plight of poor Filipinos who comprise majority of the population, citing the United Nations’ assessment of the Philippines as Asia’s worst performer in reaching the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Villanueva noted that the country’s sagigilid – including the poor and the marginalized sectors who cannot afford to pay for their children’s tuition and even basic medical consultations – are the most adversely affected by the government’s failure to deliver social services to the grassroots level.

Poverty index as guide
According to Villanueva, allocating the national budget using the poverty index as a guide will allow the government to be more responsive to the people’s needs and achieve significant progress in addressing poverty-related issues.

He further proposed for the government to channel more resources to local government units to allow them to adequately perform their duties under a decentralized arrangement – including the provision of basic social services.

“When Congress passed the Local Government Code in 1991, we were counting on its promise to improve the delivery of basic social services by devolving these responsibilities to the local government,” Villanueva said.

“Unfortunately – more than two decades since the enactment of the law – the government has consistently failed to provide the LGUs with the resources needed to effectively perform their mandate.”