MANILA, Philippines- Iginiit ni Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan na binabalanse ng administrasyong Marcos ang public spending nito at kinokonsidera ang mas malawak na pananaw para panatilihin ang economic progress ng bansa.
Inihayag ito ni Balisacan bilang pagdepensa kung paano hawakan ng pamahalaan ang pondo ng pamahalaan kasunod ng alalahanin ni dating Pangulong Rodrigo “Digong” Roa Duterte sa umano’y pagkaubos at malversation of funds ng government financial institutions (GFIs), kabilang na ang Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) at Social Security System (SSS).
Sinabi pa ni Duterte na ang bansa ay kasalukuyang nasa “state of hemorrhage” sa ilalim ng panunungkulan ni Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
Sinabi pa rin ng dating Pangulo na mas nakatuon kasi ang kasalukuyang administrasyon sa pamamahagi ng short-term aid sa halip na mamuhunan sa long-term projects.
Sa kabilang dako, sa Palace press briefing, sinabi ni Balisacan na ang pondo ng gobyerno, kabilang na ang mula sa GFIs, ay inilaan para gamitin sa “productive beneficial projects.”
“Those funds have actually now been used but broadly, yes,” ang sinabi ni Balisacan nang tanungin kung ang PhilHealth, GSIS at SSS funds ay ginagamit para sa implementasyon ng infrastructure projects at pamamahagi ng tulong sa mga Pilipinong nangangailangan.
“They are meant to address the need for funding for those projects that have been identified and programmed for implementation within the year, to the extent that they are now in our program that has been well vetted by the economic managers, by the implementing agencies, and of course, by Congress. So, if they went to those areas that should be okay,” dagdag na wika nito.
“Infrastructure development and human capital development are “long term investments” that could propel growth in the country.”
Sinabi pa rin niya na ang emergency assistance ay nagsisilbi bilang isang “safety net for those who suffer or face shocks like those coming from calamities or unfortunate incidents.”
“We look at the spending, public spending in broader context. We look at the medium term, we look at the short term because you can’t have for example, put all our baskets in the near term because we also need to grow so that we can sustain the progress that we have made in the near term,” wika ni Balisacan.
“So that’s the balancing that we have to do. And infrastructure development for example is key to that, and so is human capital development like health and education.” patuloy ng opisyal. Kris Jose
