GMA’s War Budget
By Mong Palatino

ARTICLE XIV Section 5 of the Constitution clearly mandates that education should receive the highest priority in the national budget. But what the government handed down to Congress for approval was contrary to the lofty intention of our fundamental law. It is characterized by a bloated budget for military and foreign debt payments, while education remains inadequately financed.

The education sector will receive Php110 billion or 14.2 percent of the budget while foreign debt payments will eat up Php210 billion or 27 percent of total government revenues as proposed in the General Appropriations Act. The military and police will get Php105.7 billion or 13.5 percent of the national budget. The President has also endorsed a special bill giving the military additional Php500 million in intelligence funds.

The research of IBON databank reveals other sources for military expenditures behind the expenses for “general, social and economic services.” This only means the allocation for the military and police is not limited to what they officially stand to receive in the proposal of the Department of Budget Management. The government for the past few years has been draining our resources in favor of the military and police.

The Filipinos are at the losing end in this situation. The inadequate funding for education would result to further deterioration of the public school system marked by shortages in classrooms, textbooks and basic facilities. The combined budget of the military and foreign debt payment is more than enough to cure our educational system from its ailing state today.

Perhaps it is our President’s frantic desperation to prevent any future plan to destabilize her administration that she courts the military’s loyalty to the hilt by showering them with excess funding. But what is the wisdom of allotting more for the military and police after hearing the testimonies of Fr. Nacorda and Mary Ong accusing the military of connivance with the terrorist group Abu Sayyaf and linking the police to the Hong Kong drug syndicate?

Or is this the price we have to exact from our people by being over eager in supporting the war of aggression by the US government and its allies against the people of Afghanistan? GMA must be dreaming awake if she thinks she can fool the people in justifying this big budget for miltitary by invoking the phony crusade against terrorism. This will only add more credence to our belief that the government has enough money to spare for bullets, armors and tanks but none for our books, classrooms and teachers.

Our government seems to have misplaced priorities. Imagine what would a future teacher in Philippine Normal University (PNU) would think if she happens to know her school will only get a meager funding of Php235 million from the state while the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) has an allocation of Php500 million. What does this mean? Our government prioritizes the military over the education of its people. We are disappointed to see the legacy of ousted President Joseph Estrada continues up to this day.

Even public universities are also encouraged to generate own income as government subsidy will be reduced in the next few years. Decreasing government subsidy on education would only mean more commercialization schemes to be imposed in our universities. In the end, it is the students and our parents who will shoulder the high cost of education.

We are demanding that the government rethink its priorities and rechannel military budget and debt payment to education and other social services. We have nothing to gain by wasting our money in supporting the war of aggression by the US.

On the contrary, if we sufficiently finance the education of Filipinos, then we can move forward and achieve our aspirations of a prosperous and productive nation. President Macapagal-Arroyo should realize that her promise of a better future for Filipinos rest on her political will to give education to each and every Filipino. She will definitely lose the support of the Filipino youth if she keeps on ignoring our education.