2025 Budget: By Hook Or By Crook

By Reni M. Valenzuela

Guess how much of the P6.352-trillion will go to personal/private pockets?

“To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless… We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world — right up to this moment.” – 1 Corinthians 4:11-13

Now that the bicameral conference committee has approved the P6.352-trillion  “corruption budget” (not national budget) for 2025, the avaricious and cohorts got all fired up right away as they can already satiate worriless and rob as much as they can/want from their budget, much less those with confidential and intelligence funds, pork barrel funds, unprogrammed funds, and “infrastructure” funds — each amounting to gigantic billions of pesos. Cheers! “Trapo.”

One of the largest investigative journalism organizations in the world, the Amsterdam based OCCRP or Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, released a truthful, hurtful, ignominious tale about the Philippines: “Corruption eats up US$13.35 billion, or 20% of the Philippines’ budget every year.”

Quoting our Deputy Ombudsman Cyril Ramos in an August 2019 interview, OCCRP reported: “The figure is equivalent to some 1.4 million houses for the poor, medical assistance for around seven million Filipinos, and a rice stock that can last far more than a year. With that amount, no Filipino will get hungry.”

No wonder, out of the 37 countries in the Asia Pacific region, the Philippines is ranked 6th as the most corrupt. Shame. And, amen, churches are hushed/silent and indifferent about it, virtually acting (with their “godgets” and “logo”) as complicit to the sin or crime of stealing people’s money. Are they going to heaven? “Bad Samaritans.”

What our legislators correctly did to the budget of the Office of the Vice President should have likewise been done to most (if not all) of the government offices. Pulitika nga lamang bang talaga? Is it all just mere politics, indeed?

The national budget, as usual, is “lutong makaw.” Senator Koko Pimentel was spot on when he said yesterday, “Bakit kailngang sa bicameral conference nila gawin yun?” (Why do they have to do it in the bicameral conference?), referring to the sudden additional/insertions to increase the budget of both the senate and lower house by billions pesos. Machiavellian. Ours is “democrazy,” not democracy.

This is repugnant, revolting: They eliminated the budget for AKAP (Ayuda Para sa Kapos ang Kita) and cut significantly the budget for educating our people, the poor markedly (looks red-tagging related) by P12 billion, with the state universities and state colleges and Commission on Higher Education suffering even more and ending up among the biggest losers for having the biggest cut in the budget — only for our legislators to embrace more for themselves. What do you call that, dear countrymen? Beastliness.

Do you really want the poor to remain poor, dumb and dependent on the manna that comes from your “purse,” dear politicians, in order for you to continue fooling voters and taking them for a ride, one election after another?

The senate president justified, “We cannot increase allocations without making reductions elsewhere.” But why did you make reductions on what needs bigger budget and increased funding for those whose budget need to be reduced? Baliktad.

Alas, lawmakers ballooned even more the budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways by a whopping P289 billion to make a record-breaking P1.1 trillion budget for the notoriously corrupt agency this coming year — as if the said department is not among the most corrupt agencies of the government, and as though the government is not making any headway in its “fight” against corruption.

In its announcement of the bi-cam approval of the 2025 budget, the Philippine News Agency is sounding like it aims to tame/soften negative, repulsive reactions (more than giving truthful reports) by and from the people and media to the said abhorrent, “corruption budget, if not seen as an announcement fraught with lies and half-truths that are contrary to what is being reported by the mainstream media.

Senate Finance Committee chairperson, Grace Poe said, “Bawat linya ng budget na ito ay resulta ng ating pakikipaglaban para sa inyo. Ang bawat pondo at programa ay idinisensyo upang tugunan ang inyong pangangailangan (Every line of this budget is the result of our fight for you. Each fund and program are designed to meet your needs),” But, with due respect, my dearest Senator,  who are you talking to? Nasaan po ang kausap ninyo at nasaan din ang biyaya sa sinabi mo? Where is the person you are talking to, and where is grace in what you said?

In her speech before the myopic ratification of the 2025 budget, Poe preached: “Investing in infrastructure is very important, that’s why we have increased the funds of different agencies in relation to this.” But, madam, those are words that may come only from the blind.

Oh, the marvel of you, “infrastructure.” When will they stop using you as a symbol of “progress” that they may soon brag about as legacy (superficial, moronic and deceitful) when they someday leave the “public service”? “Infrastructure” has been the priority of all past administrations, but look, where that priority or “infrastructure” has brought us all (except the crooks)?

It’s going to be fiesta time once more for crocodiles, alligators, sharks, vultures, wolves, tigers, lions, snakes and monkeys in “public service,” with their respective accomplices outside the government, courtesy of the bicam approved national (corruption) budget for 2025. Happy New Year to you all!

Poor Juan dela Cruz. Pity the Filipino people.

Fight corruption and be serious with the fight, Dear BBM. I still want to believe that you are not corrupt just as former President Cory Aquino was not corrupt.  But watch your back, sir, and those around you, near and far.

Mr. President, the first order of the day once you decide to fight (really fight) corruption, is for you to eliminate all open sources of corruption. Chuck/rebuke/exorcize the dubious, anomalous, needless, mindless, soulless “demons” from the national budget by giving up your own confidential funds, intelligence funds and unprogrammed funds. Take the lead, your excellency.

“A man who leads an orchestra must turn his back on the crowd.” – Max Lucado

Email: renivalenzuelaletters@yahoo.com