MANILA – An independent senator denounced the reported removal by Malacanang of the transparency clause in the approved national budget equivalent to about $28 billion to be used by the Arroyo administration in 2009.
Senator Francis Pangilinan said he was shocked and alarmed by the Malacanang decision to delete the transparency clause, also known as the Right to Information section, which was included in the budget approved in mid-January by the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Pangilinan pointed out the clause was included in the 2009 budget to ensure transparency and accountability in government.
He recalled that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo also vetoed the inclusion of the same clause in the 2007 budget approved by Congress, which stipulates the right of the people to information on matters of public concern but subject to limitations as provided by the country’s laws.
Pangilinan warned that its deletion could be a major reason why corruption has become increasingly worse in the Philippines.
“Less transparency means less accountability and more corruption in government,” said Pangilian who won reelection in the May 2007 midterm elections as an independent candidate.
The senator cited the complaint of several concerned non-government organizations (NGOs) that without the transparency clause, they could not monitor the implementation of several projects, costing billions of pesos, as contained in the 2009 budget.
These include projects such as farm-to-market roads as well as the rehabilitation and construction of irrigation systems to be undertaken by the Department of Agriculture, Pangilinan noted.
At the same time, Pangilinan cited a report that worsening corruption in the country was hampering the flow of millions of dollars in additional aid.
The report, he said, came from an announcement from the Millenium Challenge Corporation (MCC), an agency funded by the US government, which voiced serious concerns over the seemingly unabated corruption indicators in the Philippines.
As a result, the MMC said the Philippines failed to qualify for a large-scale grant under the US government foreign assistance program because of corruption, Pangilinan emphasized.
He pointed out the MMC had warned it would not sign an agreement for assistance until the Philippines passes the criteria which the agency has set in the fight against graft and corruption.
Pangilinan likewise mentioned a separate survey undertaken by the Singapore-based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (Perc), among foreign businessmen and investors operating in the region.
In the Perc survey, Pangilinan said the Philippines was perceived as the most corrupt with a rating of nine on a 10-point scale where 10 is the worst possible score.
Based on the MMC and Perc reports, Pangilinan said: “That’s how bad corruption is in our country today. Isn’t it shameful that rampant corruption in our country is being exposed?”
He said the Arroyo administration could help minimize corruption and also help the country repair its tattered image abroad caused by these scandals by restoring the transparency clause in the 2009 budget.
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