No Sense of Shame and Propriety

The greed and voraciousness of government officials over so-called “Confidential Funds” seem to be making headlines these days. The scandalous nature of such a trend is almost reminiscent of the days when former president Rodrigo Duterte syphoned discretionary “confidential” funds by the billions in the Office of the President, in the midst of a poverty-stricken economy ravaged by the OVID-19 pandemic.

Let us bring back a sense of shame and propriety into the use of taxpayers’ money and stop this spectacle. If the government has enough money to give in billions of confidential funds, the Filipino is intelligent enough to know that the country has sufficient funds for basic spending on health, education, and poverty alleviation. Let us not be unmindful of the fact that we have not gotten over the economic impact of the pandemic. We see that everyday, with children knocking at our doors begging for food, or poor people asking for money to bury their loved ones, or the ordinary working citizen barely surviving the soaring prices in fuel and basic commodities. Our country is steeped in foreign debt, amounting to US1179B as of June 2023, and this burden will fall upon future generations for many decades to come.

Public spending is vulnerable not only to waste and misuse, but also to fraud. Remember the scandal and controversy over the infamous PDAF (Priority Development Assistance Fund)? Transparency in spending the people’s money cannot be compromised, as this prevents corruption and maintains high standards of integrity in the use of public funds. An open and transparent budget process fosters trust in society that people’s interests are protected and that public money is used well. It should not be taken as an offense if government officials are questioned about their fiscal spending, and are asked to explain their use of funds for purposes of transparency.

QUOTATION OF THE WEEK:

“Restoring responsibility and accountability is essential to the economic and fiscal health of our nation.”

-CARL LEVIN

FOR OUR WORD OF LIFE:

“Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied.”

-ECCLESIASTES 5:10