News Roundup 14 September 2022
Sep 14, 2022 • 4 min Read
Makabayan solons say they weren’t allowed to study OVP budget after quick termination | INQUIRER.NET – A lawmaker from the opposition Makabayan bloc has claimed that they were not allowed to scrutinize the proposed Office of the Vice President (OVP) budget for 2023, which was terminated quickly in less than seven minutes by the House of Representatives on Wednesday. According to Gabriela Rep. Arlene Brosas, Makabayan lawmakers were the only ones listed to ask questions, but they were not allowed — which she believes is a “clear disregard” for the people’s right to know the budget of every single government agency. During the deliberation of OVP’s budget on Wednesday by the House committee on appropriations, Minority Floor Leader and 4Ps party-list Rep. Marcelino Libanan moved to terminate the budget briefing as a sign of respect for Duterte, who was personally present during the panel’s hearing. Libanan said the Makabayan bloc would raise questions during the OVP budget’s plenary debates. “The Makabayan bloc lawmakers were the only ones in line to interpellate on a budget of the Office of the Vice President but were not allowed to put forward questions or clarifications,” Brosas said. “This is a clear disregard for the Filipino people’s right to scrutinize the budget of government offices. Karapatan natin na malaman saan nga ba mapupunta ang P2.292 billion na pondo na sinalaksak sa opisina ng bise presidente,” he added. (It is our right to know where the P2.292 billion funding for the Office of the Vice President went.) Brosas further said they want to ask about OVP’s P500 million confidential fund, which she claimed would be the first time the office would be given a “black budget.”
Higher prices, food lack test Marcos vision of food-resilient PH | INQUIRER.NET – One of the biggest promises of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was the one he made last June 30 when he said he envisioned a food-resilient Philippines. He had stressed that the role of agriculture cries for immediate attention that its neglect and misdirection now demand: “Food sufficiency must get the preferential treatment.” This was the reason, Marcos said, that he decided to lead the Department of Agriculture (DA) “at least for now,” saying that “as for agriculture, I think the problem is severe enough”. Two months later, he is now confronted with several challenges that threaten food security—problems that also hindered the growth of the agricultural sector for decades. So last Monday (Sept. 12), Marcos met with his Cabinet to discuss the review of laws and proposed legislation to improve food supply and distribution. Malacañang said the discussion covered agricultural products such as rice, pork, fish, and vegetables. This, as the shortage and inflation of agricultural products were expected to make life more difficult, especially for the 19.99 million Filipinos who were considered by the government as “poor” last year. The UK-based think tank Pantheon Macroeconomics said inflation—the rate of increase in the prices of basic commodities—is expected to stay higher than five percent because of the continuous rise in the cost of food.
SWS: Life the same for most Filipinos, worse since last year for 31% | PHILSTAR.COM – More than a quarter of respondents in a Social Weather Stations survey said their quality of life got worse in the last year, a trend amid the social and economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. More respondents, 39%, said they believe that their quality of life remains unchanged, while only 29% said that things got better for them compared to a year ago. The June 2022 survey showed a Net Gainer score of -2, unchanged from the -2 logged in April 2022. “The net gainer score was generally negative until 2015 when it rose to positive numbers until the drastic deterioration beginning with the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns,” the survey notice read. It also added that while the country’s net gainer score has improved since the pandemic, dropping to as low as -78 in May 2020, it has yet to reach positive levels. This means that while the quality of life for Filipinos might have gotten better, the quality of life in the country still has to return to pre-pademic levels. In December 2019, just before the pandemic hit, the net gainer score stood at +18. Meanwhile, the quality of life in Metro Manila and other Luzon areas last year were ranked “high,” Mindanao ranked “fair,” and Visayas was rated “mediocre.” The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) previously reported that over 2 million more Filipinos ended up poor in 2021 compared with three years ago. After a survey of 165,029 families across the country, the agency said 19.99 million Filipinos were living below the poverty line last year, more than the 17.67 million logged in 2018, possibly due to the effects of the pandemic. As of last year, the country’s poverty rate stood at 18.1%, an increase from the 16.6% in the comparable year. The survey also showed that nearly half or 48% of Filipino families rated themselves poor, 31% are “borderline poor,” and 21% said they do not consider themselves as poor. Meanwhile, it also noted that hunger “is significantly higher” in respondents whose life got worse in the past year.
