Lacson: National budget is the most potent weapon, important measure for Congress (Sabong News)
Author
Mario Casayuran
Date
APRIL 11 2022
Presidential candidate Panfilo ‘Ping’ M. Lacson said the national budget is the most important legislation that members of the Senate and the House of Representatives pass every year because without it, government agencies and other state-funded projects could not move to deliver essential public services.
Lacson gave this simple explanation when he faced local government officials in Bataan, Sunday (April 10), to discuss his Budget Reform Advocacy for Village Empowerment (BRAVE) program, which is the bedrock of his 2022 presidential campaign and future administration if he is voted into office.
‘’The national budget is the most potent weapon. That’s why it is considered as the ‘must-pass’ legislation, right, congressman? Even if you cannot enact other laws in a year, the GAA (General Appropriations Act) must be passed,’ Lacson said in a town hall forum held at ‘The Bunker’ in Balanga City.
Lacson reiterated that budget-related measures are the “lifeblood of our economy, if not, the country itself.”
The chairman of the Senate national defense and security committee, said a nation has a serious problem if its citizens regard this issue as irrelevant.
‘’Try to clog the channels of resources—like, in anatomy, the blood vessels—stroke is what happens because it’s clogged. It’s the same thing with the national budget. That’s why many areas are being left behind, especially the far-flung communities—they say they’re too far away from the kitchen—and that is the problem,’’ Lacson said.
Under his BRAVE policy, local government units (LGUs)—from the provincial down to the barangay levels—are provided separate budget allocation for the development or livelihood projects of their respective communities or constituencies, depending on their needs and priorities.
Lacson said the ultimate goal of his proposed budget reforms is to drive social and economic growth in many underprivileged LGUs nationwide whose Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) is inadequate to facilitate their intended public service programs.
Attached to this agenda is the active involvement of the Local Government Academy in training and developing LGU executives in terms of their managerial skills and technical capabilities to make them better equipped in preparing and executing their local development plans and other programs.
‘’For example, next year, you are given a certain amount of funding, but you did not implement it properly, you will get suspended. Go back to school, study more, and you will get the funds back once you’re ready for it. So, incentivized, which means our local government executives will work harder,’’ Lacson explained.
Through his BRAVE policy, Lacson is hoping the so-called ‘culture of mendicancy’ that seemed to have been ingrained among some LGU officials every budget season during pre-pandemic times at the Senate would permanently change for the better.
This way, persistent issues of unused, misused and abused appropriations that sometimes reach billions of pesos would be resolved. The potential for graft and corruption would also be removed because public officials would find no reason to steal if funds for their projects are made available.
‘’So, that’s it, in essence. I hope I was able to explain quite clearly, so we are all aware of what our national budget can do for the development of not only our national government, but especially the local government units all over the country,’’ Lacson pointed out.
