NTF-ELCAC to 'make do' with P17-B BDP budget for 2022

From the Philippine News Agency (Dec 20, 2021): NTF-ELCAC to 'make do' with P17-B BDP budget for 2022 (By Priam Nepomuceno)

BDP BUDGET CUT. National Security Adviser and National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF ELCAC) vice chair, Hermogenes Esperon Jr., answers queries on the NTF-ELCAC budget for 2022 Barangay Development Program (BDP) in an ambush media interview at the Quezon City Hall of Justice on Monday (Dec. 20, 2021). Esperon said the NTF-ELCAC will make do with the PHP17.1 billion budget allocation, which is much lower than the PHP28.1 billion earlier proposed by Malacañang to Congress for the task force's BDP for areas freed from the insurgency. (PNA photo by Ben Briones)

The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF ELCAC) will make do with the PHP17.1 billion budget allocation it received for its Barangay Development Program (BDP) next year, an official said on Monday.

National Security Adviser and NTF ELCAC vice chair Hermogenes Esperon Jr. attributed the reduction to the opposition of some lawmakers regarding the BDP's 2022 budget which was projected to benefit 1,406 communist terrorists-cleared communities by next year.

The amount is much lower than the PHP28.1 billion budget earlier proposed by Malacañang to Congress for the task force.

"Ang mangyayari niyan, bale PHP12 million na lang instead of PHP20 million per barangay. Kaya pag-aaralan namin kung ano iyong maaabot ng PHP12 million. Dati rati, kung meron kang farm-to-market road, 'yung one kilometer na eight inches thick, five meters wide, PHP12 million na agad iyon, lalo na sa mga bundok, baka mas malalaki pa, pag-aralan natin kung ibibigay natin 'yun sa mga barangay o kalahati na lang (What will happen now is that, we will be giving out PHP12 million instead of PHP20 million. We look at how much PHP12 million can do. Usually, when you are building a farm-to-market road, it is usually a kilometer long, and is paved with eight inches of concrete, and is usually five meters wide, it costs PHP12 million, it could cost higher in mountainous areas. We will look at whether we give this to barangays or just cut it in half)," he said during an ambush interview at the Quezon City Hall of Justice.

Since the people in the beneficiary communities already knew that they will be getting PHP20 million for BDP projects, Esperon said they have no choice but to explain why some lawmakers are not amenable to giving them the proposed budget.

"Kung anong rason nila ay bahala na rin ung mga mambabatas na magpaliwanag sa kanila dahil hindi naman namin alam kung ano 'yung paliwanag nila. Sabi nila ilalagay nila sa Covid (-19) pero alam ba ninyo na sa Bayanihan 1 at Bayanihan 2 ay PHP601 billion na ang nagastos ng gobyerno dun (Whatever their reasons, it is up to the lawmakers to explain to the affected communities, we don't know their explanation, they told us that they will be using the money for Covid-19 response but do know that in Bayanihan 1 and Bayanihan 2, the government has already spent PHP601 billion for Covid-19 response)," he added.

Initially, the BDP budget of PHP20 million will allow beneficiary communities to acquire or construct farm-to-market roads, school buildings, water and sanitation systems, livelihood programs, and health stations.

Also, Esperon said the Covid-19 response has got another PHP400 billion from the proposed 2022 national budget and loans made by the government, placing the amount spent for containing and mitigating the effects of the deadly pandemic to PHP1 trillion.

While not disputing the need to spend for Covid-19 mitigation efforts, Esperon, however, wondered whether it is right for lawmakers to cut funds for the BDP, which he described as a cure for the ills caused by 53 years of communist insurgency in the country.

"Ang insurgency natin ay parang katulad din yan ng terrorism na nangyayari sa Marawi, dahil ang mga NPA (New People's Army) naman talaga ay pumapatay, nangingikil, nanununog kaya mga terorista din sila. Tingnan natin kung ano ang magiging pakiramdam ng ating mga kababayan na mawawalan, nabawasan ung kanilang pondo from PHP20 million to PHP12 million na lang. Pag-uusapan namin paano namin i-implement yan (Insurgency is like the terrorism that took place in Marawi because the NPA really kill, extort, burn, just like those terrorists. We'll see how countrymen feel about their (BDP) funds being cut from PHP20 million to PHP12 billion. We are meeting on how to implement that)," he added.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1163265