‘People’s budget’ claim criticized by civil society

THE 2012 national budget, to be signed tomorrow by President Benigno S.C. Aquino III, is not the “people’s budget” promised by the government, civil society organizations yesterday said.

“It is not right for the government to claim that the 2012 budget is the people’s budget. The allocations to important sectors like education, health and agriculture are not enough, and they don’t target the real problems,” Social Watch Philippines lead convenor Leonor M. Briones claimed during a press conference.

The Department of Education may have received the highest allocation of P237 billion, up from this year, but this isn’t enough since crucial areas of education weren’t given funding, Ms. Briones said.

“Is there a program for the education of out-of-school youths or the elderly? How about education for Muslims, indigenous peoples and people with disabilities? Why are we scrimping on education when we pay so much in debt servicing?”

An official of the Rice Watch and Action Network likewise commended the 50% budget increase granted to the Department of Agriculture (DA), bringing its allocation to P52.9 billion next year from this year’s P35.2 billion.

But much of the funds will go to irrigation projects without putting in place reforms in the National Irrigation Authority, Rice Watch secretariat Hazel A. Tanchuling said.

Irrigation isn’t the only concern, she claimed. Credit should also be granted to farmers and fisherfolk since interest rates are too prohibitive, she pointed out.

The Philippine Coalition on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities (COALITION), meanwhile, expressed “utter disappointment” at inadequate assistance for the sector. The Social Welfare department’s conditional cash transfer program doesn’t even consider disability as a variable in identifying beneficiaries, COALITION member Abner N. Manlapaz said.

Ms. Briones also claimed that not all government agencies were prepared to engage with civil society.

“An open budget isn’t just about opening the budget to the people. It’s about empowering people to join in policy formulation,” she said.