OPINION: VG Baby’s good reflex (Look ma, no pork)

BLOGISTA
By Cha Monforte

nov 13

The feathers of one of Tagum’s illustrious sons have been unruffled, to say proverbially. Right after the Davao del Norte’s 2009 annual budget of P624.5 million was approved Monday by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan without still an item Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) which has been considered as the pork barrel fund, Vice Governor Victorio “Baby” Suaybaguio told me the budget is “reflective of the real needs of the province”. He added that he has no regrets that it has no PDAF for the SP members including for himself.

“Mao gyud na ang tama, ang amo lang is to legislate,” he added.

He said that due to limited funds the legislative department is with Governor Rodolfo del Rosario in concentrating funds for his priority programs under the RDR wheels strategy of governance.

He said though that for the next year the SP has also no capital outlay and almost the same budget for the maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) compared to this year.

What a sportsman he is. Well, earlier reports said that the governor’s predecessor ex-Gob YG had reportedly dispensed PDAF for the BMs and VG for them to respond to thousands of requests of small projects, services and solicitations like medicines for the sick and hospitalized, paupers burials etc, etc from barangays and constituents (read: the voters).

It’s what Speaker Boy Nograles asserted in his white paper to justify his giving of pork barrel to the congressmen, like Joe DV. They are also politicians and in a band of legislators also engaged in politics, congressmen also need magnanimity, the pork regardless of the many issues and allegations hounding it. Otherwise, BM Dangpanan is quite right in asking his constituents’ indulgence for giving only a pittance for solicitations or else he goes home with much dwindled take home pay from his P28,340 salary or of the VG’s P29,474 salary, without yet counting their monthly RATA yet, anyway.

Be that at it may, but VG Baby may well be apprised that in the country’s fiscal structure in LGUs it is, as usual, skewed to the executive, the implementor.
As in the approved budget, the Provincial Governor’s Office (PGO) got the usual bulk in terms of personal services (PS, which is for salaries and wages) and MOOE across offices, seizing up about 13 percent or P81,060,617 of the total Capitol’s budget of P624,504,612 for 2009.

The PGO’s budget is further boosted by budget allocations across various fund accounts and services such as the P20.8-million general fund for regular programs and various services listed under the 20-percent development fund.

Under the general public services of the 20-percent development fund, the governor has P17,168,000 for the peace and order program, from which the confidential intelligence fund (IF) is pegged. Well, the IF is computed to be either 30 percent of the total peace and order appropriation, or 1 percent of the annual budget, whichever is lower, or hence Gov. Del Rosario has P5.15 million intel fund for next year.

Besides, the PGO has also P28 million for universal Philhealth coverage
of the P38.7 million for health services, P11 million for other general public services, P61.2 million for various economic services, among others.
Under this traditional fiscal parameter, look ma no pork, VG Baby’s office and the SP offices have only a budget of P15,261,550 and P30,998,586, respectively, or a total of  P46,260,136 for the legislative department’s PS and MOOE. (For online edition, visit my blog at: https://cha4t.wordpress.com, for comments and reactions, email: chamonforte@yahoo.com, or ruralurbanews@yahoo.com)

nov 13