NTF ELCAC Response to Senator Drilon’s Questions Regarding Its Budget

Senator Franklin Drilon is suspicious about the 16.4 billion budget for the Barangay Development Program.

He asks, “Bakit po parang nagmadaling ilabas ang budget? Bakit yung pondo sa Marawi rehabilitation mabagal ang paglabas ng pondo?”

What we are hearing the good senator say is that he thinks it is laudable for government to be slow in the delivery of services to the poor. And then, after DECADES of making them wait for these services, to make them wait even more.

And when government does its job and moves swiftly, there MUST be something wrong.

What we are hearing him say is that the peg for public service ought to be the peg past administrations followed that crucified the citizens of this country for all time, more so the poorest of the poor: excruciatingly slow, marked with incompetence and corruption.

This administration takes the opposite view –and upon direct orders of this President whose first Executive Order specifically instructed all government agencies to streamline their processes so that the Filipino people may be served well in the soonest possible time.

And always, the ones who have the least in life must have the most from government.

Has this been followed 100% of the time? We will be the first to say no. But it is an ongoing process of ‘catch up’ for all those years of corruption, incompetence and indifference our people suffered from past administrations.