The Freedom from Debt Coalition today urged the members of the bicameral conference committee to reallocate P21-billion worth of foreign debt service-related budget to social services as the Senate and House of Representatives meet on Monday to thresh out their differences in their respective versions of the 2008 national government budget.
In a proposal submitted to Senate finance committee chair Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile and House appropriations committee chair Rep. Edcel Lagman, FDC has identified three feasible sources of financing that would address the proposal of civil society groups comprising the Alternative Budget Initiative consortium of P20-billion additional allocations for essential services.
FDC president Ana Maria R. Nemenzo stressed that if the legislators consider pegging the peso-dollar exchange rate at a more realistic level, striking-out interest payments for proposed loans, and suspending interest payments for illegitimate debts, then there will be enough funds for basic and higher education, health care, environment and agriculture.
"If the legislators peg the exchange rate at P42 to a dollar, instead of the Malacañang's proposal of P48 to a dollar, then we could save P12.5 billion in interest payments," said Nemenzo.
"In addition, since proposed loans for programs, projects and bonds are not covered by Section 26 (b) Book 6 of the Revised Administrative Code of 1987 or the automatic appropriations law on debt servicing (formerly PD 1177), there is P5.1 billion worth of funds the legislators can reallocate to essential services," said Nemenzo.
The debt watchdog likewise appealed to Senator Enrile and Representative Lagman to keep their promise by maintaining the special provision in the budget bill stressing that "no amount shall be used for the payment of interest payments on debts which are challenged as fraudulent, wasteful and/or useless, like but not limited" to what FDC labeled as illegitimate debts. These loans include the Austria Medical Waste Project, Small Coconut Farms Development Project (SCFDP), Telepono sa Barangay Project, among others.
"If they keep their promise, we are looking at P4 – 6 billion worth of interest payments for illegitimate debts that can be re-channeled to our people's needs," said Nemenzo.
"With P21.26-billion debt service-related budget at the minimum, we have more than enough funds to finance the P20-billion proposal of the Alternative Budget Initiative consortium in augmenting the measly allocations for social services," Nemenzo said.
No comments:
Post a Comment