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THE
government should practice prudence in spending, said
Sen. Loren Legarda and suggested that the quarterly
collections from the value-added tax (VAT) ought to be
used in addressing more pressing problems, instead of
so-called subsidies.
Legarda
proposed the alternative option after President Arroyo
announced Tuesday at the start of the National Disaster
Coordinating Council Cabinet-level meeting that the
government is set to release another round of financial
subsidy for the poor amounting to P4 billion.
The
senator noted that the amount would be drawn from the
government’s revenues from VAT on oil from April to
June. She pointed out that the same amount actually
forms part of the P43 billion the government revenue
from the expanded VAT in the first five months. Of the
total VAT revenues, P9 million came from the increase in
oil prices.
“The
government has definitely lost prudence in spending. It
still has to explain the COA [Commission on Audit]
reports on irregularities and now here’s another round
of subsidies which are in the nature of dole-out,”
Legarda said.
She
earlier sought an explanation from Malacañang on the
COA’s report that the Palace already spent “scores of
millions in travel expenses, maintenance costs and other
miscellaneous expenses as opposed to the minute and to
some extent zero disbursements in training, “textbook
and instructional materials, hazard pay, among others.”
According to Legarda, subsidies are short-term in nature
and are intended to cushion the affected sectors from
the negative shocks brought by the economic slump.
“What we
are seeing now is a continuous bout of subsidies. It
seems that the government is focusing its energies into
employing piece-meal solutions until the economic
troubles abate. It is like putting band-aid to stop the
bleeding but not curing the wound,” she said.
Legarda
lamented, “We have plenty of pressing problems needing
full attention, but are often neglected like education.
And subsidies should not comprise most of the
government’s plan for the people to surpass this
distressing time. The predicament we are in should make
us realize our mistakes in the past,” she added.
“We
should opt for subsidies that are not ‘dole-outs’ in
essence. Subsidies in education and health are more
needed than ever considering that these are what people
will most likely forgo,” the senator insisted.
She
cited recent findings by the National Statistics
Coordination Board that the number of children not going
to school is steadily increasing. “This is one area
where excess revenues can be devoted to. We should
acknowledge the fact that education is still one of the
best tools in poverty alleviation. |
