Let us help Pres. Duterte in “guarding” the people’s money

THE “assurance” coming from our lawmakers is that the 2021 P7 trillion ‘National Expenditure Bill’ would be passed before Congress adjourns for the Christmas holiday break.

This, indeed, is good news, considering that stimulating the economy gives the people the assurance that the government would be “up and running,” so to speak, on the first working day of next year.

This also sends the clear message that both Congress and Malacañang are bound together by everyone’s desire for us to recover as fast as we can from the depression brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

But drawing from past experience, passing the national budget on time does not mean spending them in accordance with what the law prescribes.

Indeed, we have seen that in the case of the billions spent for “SAP” (special amelioration program) during the lockdown period from March to May, the money was gone but the intended beneficiaries, some, if not most of them, have yet to see a dime landing on their hands. For as it is, the money was lost to corruption, starting from the barangay level.

And on this, we laud the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) for initiating the filing of criminal and administrative charges against LGU officials who are still of the belief that they can abscond the money entrusted to them with impunity.

Ditto, we also laud Pres. Duterte for stating that in the remaining years of his term, his focus would be against corruption, a realization that was borne by the discovered embedded corruption at PhilHealth and a realization that is most welcome.

Indeed, members of Congress should be elated by the “invitation” of Pres. Duterte that in the dispensing of the money Congress allocated to help in the fight against COVID-19 and in the recovery effort that must necessarily follows, Congress should vigorously exercise its oversight right.

As Pres. Duterte puts it, he is willing to let officials from his Cabinet to show up in Congress to explain as to why and how the people’s money was spent, no matter how frequent, as the case may be.

To our mind, this would be the first time that a sitting President is allowing “nosy” congressmen and senators to scrutinize expenses by the Executive Branch.

In the “old days,” especially under the unlamented Noynoy Aquino administration, the squandering of public money is jealously guarded to the extent that it would take a ruling of the Supreme Court, no less, before Malacañang was put into a corner on the issue of “DAP” (Disbursement Acceleration Program).

And yes, “vigilance” should be the name of the game, considering that next year’s national expenditure program is largely anchored on loans from foreign sources. And these loans, let us all be reminded, would be paid by the present and next generation of Filipinos.

As such, to allow the crooks to have another feast day in the middle of a health pandemic is not only criminal but also, heartless.

In other words, let us get serious in joining Pres. Duterte’s aim of guarding the people’s money.

Our money.