Time to lead by example EDITORIAL 08/24/2010

Time to lead by example

EDITORIAL Click to enlarge 08/24/2010 In slashing the budget of excessive intelligence funds, running into tens of billions, generally categorized as confidential funds that are moreover discretionary and outside the purview of the Commission on Audit (CoA), Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile brought up the proposal of the Senate to drastically cut this type funds from the budget, including some P500 million, or half a billion in intelligence funds allocated to the Office of the President. If such cuts pass Congress, it is best that Noynoy Aquino does not veto this congressional slash from the budget, if only to prove to the nation that he is indeed sincere in his pledge to trim the national budget and use the money elsewhere, such as genuine social and health services, and, more important, lead the nation in a real austerity drive. After all, that which he asks others in government to do, so should do the same in the matter of fat allocations. Noynoy Aquino, in his State of the Nation Address (Sona), blasted away at the fat pay, allowances and perks enjoyed by the executives of a government water agency, seeing this as being much too insensitive of them, given the difficult economic times hitting the Filipinos, apart from stating that such perks and fat allowances were a waste of public funds. But, as it is turning out, it is the President of the Republic that has control of the fattest of funds, the fattest of pork barrels for his discretionary funds, whose expenditure is not even audited, just as his so-called Presidential Social Fund (PSF), which also runs into billions, is not under CoA audit either. Malacañang has been pointing to Congress and its huge pork barrel enjoyed mainly by the allies of the President, even wanting earlier on to have this slashed, saying that slashing it would help ease the budget deficit problem this administration is facing. Yet Noynoy never pointed to making that “sacrifice” of letting go of his billions in Palace pork barrel, for which he does not even have to account.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100824com1.html

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