Robredo: No room for unauthorized budget insertions in Naga City

MANILA, Philippines — Naga City Mayor Leni Robredo said Thursday that there is no room for unauthorized budget insertions in the city’s budget.

In a media interview following the ceremonial turnover of Disaster Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Assistance Program (DRRAP) funds to local government units (LGUs) at Malacañan Palace, Robredo discussed Naga City’s budget preparation process.

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“From day one of the budget process, gumawa kami ng eight clusters. Iba-iba, merong governance, merong infra, merong health, education, arts, and culture. Ang umuupo dun, isang department head ng city hall pero ang co-chair niya member of the sector,” she said.

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(From day one of the budget process, we created eight clusters. Different ones, there is governance, there is infra, there is health, education, arts, and culture. The one sitting there is a department head from city hall but his co-chair is a member of the sector.)

“Hindi mangyayari sa amin ‘yung mga singit, hindi sa amin mangyayari ‘yung insertions gaya nung nangyari sa House of Representatives. Hindi kayang maging ghost dahil tao mismo ‘yung nagbabantay,” she added. The city of Naga received P20 million from the DRRAP.

(Unauthorized insertions—like those that occurred in the House of Representatives—will not happen on our end. There’s no way for anything to be ‘ghosted’ into the budget, because actual people are there monitoring it.)

Robredo also backed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s statement that the disbursement of the funds was not marred with political color.

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“Nakikita natin na from different political parties naman ‘yung nandun, different political affiliations,” she said.

(We can see that those present come from different political parties and have different political affiliations.)

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In his speech during the event, Marcos warned LGU leaders against corruption in the DRRAP and said that those who profit from the suffering of their fellow Filipinos would face legal consequences.

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“Pera po ito ng taong bayan at para ito sa mga kababayan nating nasalanta. Hindi ito pondo para pagkakitaan at hindi rin ito pondo para [sa] sinumang gustong magpayaman sa gitna ng ating mga nararamdaman na trahedya,” Marcos said. 

(It is the people’s money and is intended for our fellow Filipinos who have been affected by disasters. This is not a fund to profit from, nor is it a fund for anyone who wants to enrich themselves amid the tragedies we are experiencing.)

“There must be no room for corruption in this program. Bawal ang ghost project. Bawal ‘yang mga komisyon. Bawal [ang] mga substandard na rehabilitation project,” he added.

(There must be no room for corruption in this program. Ghost projects are prohibited. Commissions are prohibited. Substandard rehabilitation projects are prohibited.)

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The first batch of more than P6 billion has been released, while the second batch of more than P2.5 billion has been approved and is being disbursed to LGUs. /jpv