It must be difficult for the current DOTr admin to clean up the PUV Modernization mess that the previous admin left behind.
But they can’t play the blame game to for obvious political reasons. Kudos to our jeepney drivers for keeping up the pressure.
Ganito ang demokrasya.
Let’s not lose perspective. Let’s not be short-sighted.
The failure in our road-based transport system will permanently affect commuters if we do not stand in solidarity with the people who shuttle us to and from work.
Tulad ng sinabi ni @hyabendana, gustong sumunod ng mga jeepney drivers sa PUV modernization program. Pero kung punong-puno naman ng barriers ang implemenation , dapat makinig ang DOTr sa mungkahi ng sector.
Ganito ang demokrasya.
Tandaan rin natin, lalo na ng DOTr, na may krisis sa supply ng road-based transport noon pa man.
If they phase out the jeepneys without more efficient alternatives, there will be dire consequences for businesses and the economy
The underfunding on road-based public transport across post-EDSA administrations is now catching up on the state.
If the gov't is serious about transition, then it should fix the implementation problems, provide adequate funding, and seriously rethink the timeline of phaseout.
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Did Congress violate the Constitution when it passed the 2023 General Appropriations Act?
First, the Constitution mandates that education receive the highest budget computation.
But in this graph, public works actually had the highest allocation in the 2023 GAA
In the 2023 GAA, the combined budgets of DepEd, SUCs, CHED and TESDA amounted to 832.25B while the DPWH budget amounted to 893.12.
The total budget of the education sector (as it is traditionally computed) is 60B+ LOWER than the budget for public works.
Notice that the proposed version of the education vs public works budget isn't like this. In the 2023 NEP, the total budget of the education sector is actually higher than that of public works.
DBM could not have made a mistake. The reallocations happened AFTER the Bicam
NEDA Sec @ambalisacan: “If you believe there is high inflation and part of that is because of high liquidity, that’s [reserve requirement] one instrument [BSP can use to cool inflation]. I wouldn’t want the Bangko Sentral to lose these instruments,”
Sec Arsi also shares the same view I expressed in @lanceyu_’s article on Rappler about immediately and directly funding infra projects via the GAA: “it may be more useful to finance infrastructure projects immediately rather than wait for the returns from the MIF”
ICYMI here’s what I said: “While the SWF is envisioned to generate investment returns in the long run, direct investments for infrastructure can be done through the general appropriations act,”
I remember in one of the technical budget hearings, former DPWH Sec Babes Singson also explained that we have a lot of roads that are substandard. Some of them kelangan bakbakin ng DPWH in order to upgrade them.
I don’t know if that’s still the case now. Tanungin ang DPWH
Preventive maintance and other types of maintenance work on DPWH infra are regular activities which have budget allocations.
Part ito ng kanilang Asset Preservation Program and is in fact one of the major programs DPWH
The Pension and Gratuity Fund was slashed by 91.3B.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund was slashed by 10.5B
These amount to a total of 159.2B. These are the real major changes in the budget done by the Bicam. 2/x
The reallocation of the Special Purpose Funds effectively reversed the prioritization made by the Executive branch as encapsulated in the National Expenditure Program (NEP)
Recall that our analysis of the 2023 NEP showed these trade-offs 3/x
This is just gaslighting. It proceeds from a shallow understanding of democracy, politics and history.
First of all, the argument is too simplistic in that it is framed only in terms of broadening political support to be able to win elections.
Yes, electoral politics is important. Yes, politicians need to win elections to claim state power. But elections are the barest minimum for democracies to function. Failed states across time and place show this.
Conflict-ridden states like Afghanistan and Iraq held elections. Politicians in those states won in their respective elections. They captured state power, but their institutions and in effect, societies remain extremely dysfunctional. Is that enough for us?