ULAP, LPP vs. Senate:

Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth

OnIf it will come to this, then it's more like the biblical dare ---- an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. This grim scenario will surface likely if the the 1.7-million-strong Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) will make good its threat to junk re-electionist senators who will scrap the P5-billion Kilos Asenso Support Fund (KASF) and the P3-billion Barangay Kalayaan Development Fund (BKDF) from the proposed 2006 General Appropriations Act (GAA) in the 2007 elections.

Bohol Gov. and ULAP President Erico Aumentado who also heads the League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP) said both organizations have agreed to junk such senators regardless of party affiliation. ULAP is the umbrella organization of all 11 local government unit (LGU) leagues. “These are not pork barrel funds! If the senators scrap them, we will retaliate by similarly scrapping them from our list of 2007 senatoriables even if we belong to the same political party!” Aumentado vowed.

On learning through reports of the national media of the move to delete both funds in order to trim the 2006 GAA, Aumentado individually wrote Sen. Manuel Villar who heads the Committee on Finance, Senate President Franklin Drilon, Majority Leader Francis Pangilinan, Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and the rest of the senators to defend the KASF and the BKDF. He said the LPP and the ULAP view with grave concern such Senate move.

“Sadly, LPP and ULAP cannot appreciate the Honorable Senate President's allegation – as published in the media – that the Kilos Asenso Support Fund and the Barangay Kalayaan Development Fund are pork barrels of the President and the local government executives,” he said. The contention is farthest from the truth, he stressed.

The KASF is not pork barrel because first, the LGUs are required to put up the equivalent counterpart fund for developmental projects such as water, power, farm-to-market roads, small irrigation projects, housing, livelihood, job generation, health and sanitation, reforestation, sanitary landfill and school buildings, among others. The LGUs' counterpart fund thereon is embedded in their 2006 budgets.

Second, the project proposals need to be approved by the city or municipal development councils concerned. These councils are composed of multi-sectoral groups including representatives from non-government organizations (NGOs) and the clergy.

Third, the projects will have to be reviewed and approved by the Provincial Development Councils (PDCs) before they can be funded by the appropriate national government agencies (NGAs). The PDCs are composed of multi-sectoral groups including representatives from NGOs, the clergy and other private sectors. In fact, in the case of Bohol , Aumentado pointed out, the bishop of the Diocese of Tagbilaran is a member of the PDC. The implementation of the projects thus approved will be undertaken by the LGUs concerned.

Fourth, the project implementation will be monitored by the concerned Regional Development Councils. All RDCs have their monitoring systems in place. “With respect to the Barangay Kalayaan Development Fund, the funding is needed to sustain the military's and LGUs' developmental thrusts in conflict areas. Military action alone cannot solve the insurgency problem of the country. There must be the component of economic and social development for the inhabitants so the government can win the hearts and minds of the people therein,” the governor said.

The Bohol experience, now used as the model by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP), is that the provincial government and the military are working together in winning the battle against the communist insurgents in the province.

“Today, I am happy to inform you that the communist insurgency in Bohol has been reduced to the barest minimum. But we have to sustain the program that needs the funding from the Barangay Kalayaan Development Fund,” he said.

The Provincial Development Fund alone cannot sustain the program as more areas are now cleared of insurgents, and thus, more job generation and livelihoods must have to be put in place to prevent the return of the NPA-CPP-NDF forces and mass base, he explained. “I am sure that you will appreciate the fact that the military and the local government units in insurgency or conflict areas need the logistical support to deny the inroads of insurgency, if not eliminate them, as in the case of Bohol,” Aumentado wrote the senators.

He said the BKDF can play a vital role therefore in the fight against insurgency since the fund, if properly harnessed, can improve the quality of life of the people in conflict areas, which is a sure-fire formula to win back the insurgents' mass base to the government fold. “We cannot attain this objective just by promises, but by a sustained program of development which needs the Barangay Kalayaan Development Fund,” Aumentado rationalized. He said the LPP and ULAP are now appealing to the Senate to make a second hard look on its decision to abolish the items.

“We trust that the Senate will show its statesmanship and rise above the level of political consideration,” Aumentado told the senators. He appealed to each lawmaker to help LPP and ULAP convince the other senators militating against the KASF and the BKDF to reconsider their position thereon.

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