In the education sector, 36 state colleges and universities saw P6.1 billion slashed from their proposed budget. In a statement, the presidents of the SUCs lamented that for a long time now, higher education in the Philippines “has been in crisis.” What they need, they said, is a higher appropriation instead of a multibillion-peso reduction.
I’m math-challenged, but I didn’t do too badly in university economics. I’m aware of the acute inadequacy of resources in certain sectors particularly public health and education. And I’m befuddled by the funding priorities in a government that’s strapped for cash and saddled with a P14.15-trillion debt as of end-June this year.According to the Department of Budget and Management, of the P10.14 billion requested by the executive branch, P4.
Critics asked if the funds were spent for Christmas gift-giving or victory parties. Malacañang said the funds went to OVP satellite offices, but did not go into specifics. As defined in a COA circular, confidential funds are allocations used by civilian government agencies for surveillance activities that support their mandate. Intelligence funds, meanwhile, are used by military and other uniformed personnel as well as intelligence operatives in gathering information related to national security and law enforcement.
Our law enforcement agencies are woefully undermanned and underequipped, so I can see the logic in allowing certain agencies to directly handle their security concerns, such as the Department of Information and Communications Technology, which must confront rapidly evolving cyber threats. About a third of personal income automatically goes to the government. This is apart from the value-added and excise taxes automatically collected by the government for nearly all commodities and services in this country.