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Araling Panlipunan10
Reflection:
Unless Congress does anything about it, the explanations given may be giving the
administration license to spend more confidential funds than the P10.1 billion that the
Marcos administration is asking for in 2024
MANILA, Philippines – After much backlash from the public, the leadership of both the
House of Representatives and the Senate have agreed to reallocate confidential funds from
agencies not necessarily involved in surveillance to agencies fighting for fishermen’s rights,
amid rising tensions in the West Philippine Sea .
This is well and good. Some observers note, however, that there remains the need to plug
holes in policy that in the first place allowed the unprecedented rise in confidential fund
spending.
Officials provided two explanations to justify the release of confidential funds to the Office
of the Vice President (OVP) Sara Duterte in 2022, and they do not necessarily support each
other:
The first, which came from Marikina 2nd District Representative Estella Quimbo, is
that there was an existing item, with “zero” allocation, that was augmented.
The second, which was provided by Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman , is that
because the money came from the contingent fund managed by the budget
department, it was not considered an augmentation, and therefore did not fall under
the constitutional prohibition.
Both explanations surface more worrisome issues. By pushing for a broad interpretation of
the use of the contingent fund, Duterte’s defenders were in effect opening the floodgates for
its misuse.
Reflection:
kumilos para sa pinakamahusay na interes ng mga tao. Ang mga potensyal na panganib na
nauugnay sa pagbibigay-katwiran sa 2022 na kumpidensyal na pondo ni VP Sara Duterte ay
nagpapakita ng kritikal na pangangailangan para sa transparency, pananagutan, at mabuting
pamamahala sa ating pampulitikang tanawin. Ang mga panganib na ito ay sumasaklaw sa mga isyu
tulad ng pagbawas ng tiwala ng publiko, potensyal na maling paggamit ng mga pondo, hindi sapat na
mga kasanayan sa pamamahala, at pagbaba ng kredibilidad. Bilang mga responsableng mamamayan,
napakahalaga na magsikap tayo para sa isang pampulitikang kapaligiran kung saan matatag ang
checks and balances at pinapanatili ang transparency. Sa gayon lamang natin masisiguro na ang
paglalaan at pagbibigay-katwiran ng mga kumpidensyal na pondo, anuman ang nanunungkulan, ay
naaayon sa mga prinsipyong nagpapatibay sa isang tunay na demokratikong lipunan.