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House members on Tuesday said the increase in the allocation for multi-purpose buildings and local roads under the House-approved P7.2 trillion proposed budget for 2027 was based on the needs of the public.
Representatives Terry Ridon of Bicol Saro party-list, Gerville Luistro of Batangas, and Joel Chua of Manila made the response after People’s Budget Coalition spokesperson AJ Montesa flagged the increase for multi-purpose buildings and local roads by as much as P170 billion.
The watchdog said that such an increase was reminiscent of flood control projects.
Ridon, however, said that the increase was based on the needs of the public.
“In any budget planning activity, it has to be needs based. We cannot compare various infrastructure projects as if they are the same. The very important, basic question is, are these line items [of projects] based on what the people need? Will this serve the common good?,” Ridon said in a press conference.
“If we talk about multipurpose buildings, these include senior citizens community centers, barangay and municipal facilities. So, this cannot be a general denial on the importance of these infrastructure projects. We cannot use generalities [in classifying infrastructure programs] when there are actual communities who will benefit from these projects, not just one or two people,” Ridon added.
Luistro said it is too early to judge the House version of the budget at this point when the Senate is yet to approve its own version and Congress yet to reconcile the differences of both chambers’ versions, if there are any.
“If there is an actual need for these projects, there is nothing wrong about that so long as it will serve the interest of the Filipino people,” Luistro said.
“What I take offense of are the ghost projects,” Luistro added.
Chua agreed, saying that allocation for multi-purpose buildings covers the need for evacuation centers too.
“If a multi-purpose structure is an evacuation center, is that prohibited? Clearly, evacuation centers are a constant need when we deal with climate change. We have to look at the merits of these kinds of [infrastructure] project,” Chua said. —VAL, GMA News