I am in favor of the move to increase the local government units’ (LGUs) share in the Internal Revenue Allotment from 40 to 50 percent. This is long overdue.
This would allow LGUs to have enough funds to address basic concerns. Today, we can see the imbalance in the way the national government spends. The National Capital Region and Luzon are getting the biggest allocation especially for infrastructure projects.
We in Cebu have contributed so much in taxes but we get a miniscule allocation from the national government. This is one of the reasons I am against the present highly-centralized setup.
There is a taint of autonomy for local governments after some national government functions were devolved and yet, the budget for these have remained with the national government.
I think our national politicians are satisfied with this setup because it places LGUs at their mercy. LGUs remain grateful and indebted to the national politicians who, through the pork barrel, keep a patron-client relationship.
This is why despite the Supreme Court decision declaring the pork barrel unconstitutional, Congress still proposed a national budget with a pork barrel under another name.
The people’s initiative to abolish all kinds of pork barrel is very important and should be supported knowing the recalcitrant attitude of members of Congress.
It is best for the country to finally abolish for good all types of pork barrels in Congress and in the government.
For one, it has been a source of corruption for some congressmen as seen in the Janet Napoles pork barrel expose.
By the way, what happened to the investigation of those involved in the scam, especially the senators mentioned by Benhur Luy? Why is it that only Senators Enrile, Estrada and Revilla are in jail when Luy mentioned others who benefited from the pork barrel scam?
Why is the Department of Justice so eager to investigate Binay for the alleged overpriced Makati building but silent on the rest of the senators and PNP chief Purisima?
Apparently, this government is showing bias against those who are not allied with the administration.
While it is true and no one could question that President Aquino is an honest government official, unfortunately the integrity of the rest do not come close to that.
What is doubly unfortunate is that Aquino seems unable to control some Cabinet members and has turned a blind eye to the wrongdoings of some of his high ranking officials.
Many pray for the President to apply his “Daang Matuwid” slogan to his officials, not just those from the opposition, if he truly wants to leave a good legacy to the Filipino people.
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I am happy about the passage of an ordinance requiring restaurants in Cebu City to include “half rice” servings in their menu.
We can avoid waste. Some people who don’t eat much are given a full serving of rice, which they leave on their plates and ends up as garbage.
This ordinance would greatly help the rice industry, avoid unnecessary waste, and help thousands of hungry people.
Kudos to the City Council for being vigilant and passing an ordinance that benefits the people, especially the hungry and the less-privileged.
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