PRESS RELEASE
Bayan Muna Hits Pro-War, Pro-Foreign Debt Budget
October 18, 2001

THE GOVERNMENT'S proposed P780.8-billion budget for next year gives greatest priority to waging war and paying off foreign debts.

Bayan Muna party-list representative Satur Ocampo today said, “The government’s priorities are as distorted as ever. It prefers to attack people in the countryside rather than address their poverty and to pay off foreign creditors rather than provide social services.”

Spending on the military and police is projected to grow by 25% or P19.8-billion in 2002. Automatic appropriation for interest and principal payments on foreign debt will increase by 40.1% or P44.3-billion. Some 27% of the total increase in spending next year will be going to just defense, public order and safety, and foreign interest payments.

In contrast, the activist solon pointed out that spending on education will only increase by 6.7% or P8.2-billion and on health by 6.4% or P880 million. Spending on housing even falls by 10.1% or P250 million. In 2002, 39% of the budget will go to defense, public order and safety, and domestic and foreign interest payments.

“The neglect of key social services is worsening even as defense spending is fast approaching the levels reached during former President Aquino’s ‘total war’ in the late 1980s,” stressed Ocampo.

Ocampo denounced Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s hypocrisy in promising the Filipino people jobs, education, housing and food on every table in her State-of-the-Nation address last July. “What was she talking about? Not only does this budget not give any of that, it augurs the worst for increasing human rights violations,” he said.

The progressive solon also scored the automatic appropriation for debt servicing. “Again we are seeing the gross injustice of this provision. The worsening economic crisis will strain the government’s ability to keep within the targeted budget deficit. Yet austerity programs always hit social services while keeping payments on debt servicing intact.”

The current deficit target is P130-billion which, Ocampo said, the government maintains only to project an image that all is well. He also noted that interest payments on debt as ever take up the lion’s share of the budget at 26.2%.
“And yet some of those debts are patently against the interests of the Filipino people such as US Public Law 480 where the United States lends just so that they can sell their grains and soybean surpluses,” said Ocampo.

In 2002, interest and principal payments on PL 480 will be P754-million pesos. Total outstanding PL 480 debt at the start of the year will be P12.6-billion.

Bayan Muna is against the dumping of rich country surpluses on the Philippines because of their damaging effect on domestic food security and self-sufficiency.

With the World Food Summit due to take place on November 5-9, Ocampo said his party is pushing House Resolution 234 which they filed to take out Philippine agriculture from the World Trade Organization (WTO).