DEPUTY by the Duterte administration should be investigated by Congress to determine where the funds were used and if they really benefitted the country that is then grappling with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Asked by the media if the so-called COVID debts should be investigated, Garin answered “definitely.”
“Government loans are very serious matter. Why? Sinangla mo kasi yung future ng iyong mga anak at mga apo and sometimes it’s even more than that. So why is it important to talk about this? Kasi hindi pwedeng may blanket authority lang yan just like what we saw in the pandemic. Nung pandemic kasi parang naging excuse na umutang kaliwa’t kanan,” Garin said during the daily media briefing at the House.
“Nakita naman natin na andaming inutang para sa bakuna. Again, a no-no. Loans should be dealt sacredly. Kasi minsan, madaling umutang pagkatapos bahala na si Batman sa bayaran,” she added.
Presidential Adviser on Poverty Alleviation Larry Gadon earlier said the Duterte administration is to blame for the country’s present debt burden, which reached P7.2 trillion in six years, higher than the P6.6 trillion debt incurred from President Manuel L. Quezon to President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III in a span of 89 years.
“Andami nating problema kinakaharap, pero ang pinakamalaking harang sa paggalaw at pag-unlad ay yung sangkatutak na utang na hindi naman natin alam kung tayo ay nag-benepisyo pero pilit na pilit at wala tayong magawa kundi binabayaran ng ating bayan, ng ating mga kababayan,” Garin said.
The Iloilo lawmaker said that debt servicing in the national budget is an automatic appropriation, which means it is not subject to congressional adjustments.
“Dito kasi, pag umutang ka at ang guarantor ay ang Pilipinas, meron tayong automatic debt servicing na tinatawag. Ibig sabihin, gustuhin mo man o hindi, babayaran mo yung utang na yan, kinakaltas yan sa budget ng Pilipinas,” Garin said.
“So kung malaki ang utang, hindi na halos makagalaw ang gobyerno. Ang katanungan, bakit ito dapat matignan? Para magkaroon ng mga batas na kung saan lang at ano ang parameters kapag ikaw ay uutang,” she said.
“Not like yung the situation of the pandemic na ang mahal mahal ng testing na binabayaran ng bawat tao. Ang laki-laki ng nagastos ng Philhealth doon sa testing. Sinisingil pa yung tao aside sa bayad ng Philhealth. Pero nakikita natin bilyon bilyon ang inutang para sa testing. Dapat libre yon,” she added.
Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong agreed with Garin, saying that a national policy against excessive borrowing should be put in place in case another emergency in the magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic occurs again in the future.
“I think we also need to revisit how can we actually enter into a loan whenever there is a declaration of state of emergency … Wala namang problema sa pag-uutang as long as we also have a system where the country can make good of debt payments,” Adiong said. “Kung naging excessive yung power to enter into a loan, I guess that is something that we need to revisit … We need to revisit that policy or law that grants a branch of government to excessively enter into a loan just because we are under a state of calamity,” he added.
