ILOILO City – Government funds used for “fascism” are better rechanneled to aid survivors of the recent Severe Tropical Storm “Paeng” and other disasters, according to militant groups under Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) Panay.
In a picket at the regional office of the Department of Social Welfare and Development – Region 6 in Molo district, Lucy Franciso, spokesperson of BAYAN Panay, said P19 billion of next year’s budget intended for state-sanctioned affairs should instead be given to disaster survivors.
The group was referring to the combined proposed budgets of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), and intelligence and confidential funds, amounting to P10 billion, P4.9 billion and P4.3 billion, respectively.
“People have only suffered from these budget allocations which are used to conduct surveillance, red-tagging, and kill militant, progressive and critical members of society. These funds are just a waste of people’s money,” Francisco said.
As per the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC)-Region 6 report on Nov. 5, “Paeng” affected 388,837 families in 2,461 barangays in the region.
Also included in the P19 billion, according to the group, are the Office of the President’s confidential (P2.25 billion) and intelligence (P23.535B) funds, and the Office of the Vice President’s confidential fund (P500 million).
In terms of damages and losses, “Paeng” cost the region P1.5 billion, according to the Department of Agriculture – Western Visayas.
The province of Capiz suffered the most damage at P745 million, followed by Iloilo (P328 million), Negros Occidental (P227 million), Antique (P199.8 million), Aklan (P16 million), and Guimaras (P4 million).
BAYAN also slammed the government’s budget cut for its assistance to individuals under crisis in its Protective Services for Individuals and Families in Difficult Circumstances or previously known as Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS). For 2023, the program will only receive P19.89 billion, a reduction of P19.98 billion from 2022’s P39.87 billion, said Francisco.
“These confidential and intelligence funds are also prone to corruption because of its nature of free from being liquidated and audited. If rechanneled and reverted back to aid disaster survivors, these funds could go a long way for victims of the government’s criminal neglect,” added Francisco./PN
