NEDA director general Ernesto Pernia, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno and Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez (file photo)
Leftists warned President Rodrigo Duterte to be “wary of the neoliberal triumvirate” in his administration who, they said, were trying to block his “pro-people policies while continuing to uphold the discredited neoliberal macro-economic policies of the Aquino regime.”
In a statement Wednesday, Renato Reyes Jr., secretary general of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, cited the opposition of Secretaries Benjamin Diokno of Budget and Management, Carlos Dominguez of Finance, and National Economic and Development Authority director general Ernesto Pernia to the proposed pension hike for Social Security Service members.
When he campaigned for the presidency, Duterte slammed his predecessor, Benigno Aquino III, for vetoing a bill, primarily authored by leftist lawmakers, that sought to increase the pension of SSS members by P2,000 because the move would eventually bankrupt the pension fund. Duterte also promised to push through with the pension increase.
However, Duterte recently said he might not be able to make good on his promise, citing the same reasons given by Aquino which, he added, was also the advice of his economic advisers, although his spokesmen said he was still studying the matter with an eye to reaching a “win-win” solution.
At a Palace briefing Tuesday, Diokno said it would be unfair to use tax money to fund the pension increase of what he described as a “private fund.”
"It is unfair for us to call on everybody to increase pension of a few. Our tax system is such that even the jobless, they pay taxes in the form of value added tax. Why should you burden them to give benefit to a private pension system?" he said.
He also said, “Iba ‘yung candidate Duterte, sa President Duterte (Duterte the candidate is different from President Duterte),” much like Donald Trump the candidate is not the same as the US president-elect because, “may naipapangako ka na, pagka natingnan mo ‘yung datos hindi pala puwede (you have already promised something but, when you look at the data it can’t be done).”
Reyes called Diokno's reasoning “unacceptable” because it implied that people should not believe what candidates say.
“The economic managers should be helping the President fulfill his promise to the people, instead of finding ways to abandon these promises,” he said.
Reyes also noted that Diokno, Dominguez and Pernia “previously opposed the two-year ban on land conversion” and “now want to raise the excise tax on oil products.”
“It seems that they are systematically trying to undermine whatever pro-people and progressive policy pronouncement Duterte has in his government,” he said.
“Duterte should listen to the ordinary people and not the pro-business, pro-foreign, economic mangers. Protests loom over the government's failure to uphold its promises to the people,” Reyes said as he warned that “the economic crisis remains and will fuel unrest unless Duterte fulfills his promises of pro-people reforms.”
http://interaksyon.com/article/135844/left-blasts-duterte-admins-neoliberal-triumvirate
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