BAGUIO CITY March 31 – The national government can afford to give away at least P100 billion in taxpayer’s money to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) alone annually once the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) will be approved without amendments by both chambers of Congress even as the government is suffering from lack of funds in funding the implementation of priority infrastructure projects and enhancing the delivery of basic services to the majority of Filipinos, Senator Francis Escudero said here.
Escudero said the conflicting figures being released by the Office of the President in relation to the funds to be given to the Bangsamoro government once the BBL will be enacted into law and ratified by the people of Mindanao shows that Palace advisers were not aware of what they committed and signed which would be dangerous to the government’s standing at present.
“The BBL is only for the MILF and its leaders and not for the attainment of lasting peace in Mindanao. Worst, the BBL is for the MILF leaders because there are commanders which they could not control themselves,” Senator Escudero stressed.
At first, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance disclosed that government peace panel chairperson Dr. Miriam Ferrer informed them that the annual assistance to be given by the government to the Bangsamoro government is only P7 billion which he described as too dangerous on the part of the government.
Upon scrutiny of the available documents submitted to the Senate, Escudero revealed the initial assistance to be given by the national government to the Bangsamoro government should not be less than the assistance it is currently giving the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) that now amounts to approximately P20 billion.
He claimed with the inclusion of the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) of local governments and the separate funding allocations for the regional line agencies, the budgetary assistance will increase to more or less P75 billion annually.
Furthermore, funds to be generated by the Bangsamoro government from its revenue generating mechanism and wealth sharing powers as enshrined in the agreement will result to the escalation of the government’s assistance to the MILF to a whopping P100 billion or at least 3 percent of the national expenditure program.
Senator Escudero cited it is good for the people of Mindanao if they stand to benefit from the P100 billion annual government funding assistance but if the funds will be confined to the MILF alone, then it would be a different story that warrants the introduction of the needed amendments to the provisions of the Bangsamoro law in order to align the same with the provisions of the 1987 Constitution.
The lawmaker claimed meagre funds of the government should be appropriately used for the benefit of the greater majority of Filipinos because simply giving away P100 billion just to advance the welfare of a certain group would be contrary to the essence of good governance, transparency and accountability.
Escudero warned Dr. Ferrer and members of the government peace panel not to hide details of the MILF peace agreement because their actions would defeat the purpose of why the government entered into the agreement that might result to the depletion of its resources that would be given out as dole outs to secessionists in Mindanao.