PRESIDENTIAL Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda lashed at former Cainta, Rizal Mayor Ramon Ilagan, saying the former mayor was “atrociously ignorant” of the Aquino administration’s P100-billion Bottom-Up Budgeting program.
“He [Mon Ilagan] is atrociously ignorant of the concept of BUB. Where has he been for the last five and a half years?” Lacierda said.
“BUB does not go directly to the person. The people on the ground directly determines what project will benefit the community and the budget goes to the project,” said Lacierda.
“Maybe [Vice President Jejomar Binay] should be told that BUB is participatory governance, and not a money making, corruption undertaking,” Lacierda said in reaction to the charge of Ilagan, Binay’s spokeman, that the LP was using the BUB as electoral “grease money.”
“The ‘Bribe Ur Barangay’ is the newest localized version of pork-barrel politics,” Ilagan said. “The power of the LP’s purse is energized by the administration’s CCT and BUB projects.”
Ilagan said the BUB’s rationale was no longer developmental but “envelopmental” and no longer economics but politics.
Ilagan said the ruling party had been dangling billions of money from the nation’s coffers for election purposes. He said about P25 billion was tucked in the 2016 national budget for the BUB.
“Some P24.7 billion was inserted in the national budget and this is so far the biggest pork barrel in election year history,” Ilagan said.
Ilagan made the claim after LP presidential candidate Mar Roxas promised during the National Assembly of the Liga ng mga Barangay sa Pilipinas that he would give village officials access to as much as P100 billion in funds each year.
“No matter how Mar and the LP call it or sweeten the packaging, it is still legalized vote-buying because it is meant to influence the people’s voting preferences,” Ilagan said.
He said the BUB aside, the administration was also using the Conditional Cash Transfer program or dole to the poor to win the support of local officials and voters.
