I vote “No” to HB 6767.

As a neophyte member of the House, I tried to familiarize myself with the budget process by reviewing the agency budget notes and participating in the pre-plenary and plenary budget deliberations. I listened to the presentations of our Cabinet Secretaries. I studied the budget proposals of our frontline government agencies. I understood the need to guarantee the funding requirements of many government programs, especially those that deliver specific social services to our people.

But I realized that we in Congress are almost powerless to secure the appropriate funds for deserving government offices. Why? Because Congress cannot touch the special purpose funds, unprogrammed funds, intelligence funds of the president, and the massive foreign debt servicing. Congress cannot propose to cut or realign a significant bulk of the budget.

Samantala, pinag-aagawan ng mga ahensiya natin ang matitirang badyet. At ang maliit na badyet ng mga ahensiya ay pwede pang mabawasan kung hindi natin sila kaibigan. Pinaniwala tayong nasa atin ang power of the purse pero sa totoo lang, tila sinuko na natin ito sa Office of the President. This I cannot accept and understand.

I vote “No” to HB 6767 because I refuse to accept the logic that we have adequate funds to pay foreign creditors but none for the capital outlay of schools and colleges. We gave the president more than sufficient allocation for his/her travel expenses pero tinitipid naman natin ang ating mga ospital.

This budget does not address the present problems of the country. When government agencies drafted their budget proposals, wala pa ang A(H1N1), wala pa si Ondoy at Pepeng. The government continues to insist that the global financial crisis will not affect the country’s projected economic performance.

And so we have a budget that is not responsive to the people’s needs. A budget that will have little impact on the poor. A budget that prioritizes the welfare of foreign creditors over ordinary Filipinos. A budget that will not modernize the economy. A budget that will not brighten the country’s future. This budget does not address the needs of a nation populated mainly by the unemployed, the uneducated, the uncared-for, the disenfranchised.

As a young lawmaker, I will vote for bills that will strengthen the country’s political and economic institutions. We need a government that has ample resources to help the poor and uplift the living conditions of every Filipino. Sadly HB 6767 will further erode the capability of the state as an instrument of spreading progress in the country. I cannot, therefore, in my conscience, vote for the approval of this bill.

If this body decides to approve this budget, I hope that my colleagues can still look at the people straight in the eye.

I Vote No To HB 6767.

-Rep. Raymond Palatino
Kabataan Partylist