"Are we to believe the Senate’s allegations?"
So President Rodrigo Duterte had threatened to veto the 2019 national budget, an offshoot of Senate President Tito Sotto and Senator Ping Lacon’s incessant insinuation the House of Representatives had committed an illegal act when it inserted provisions in the proposed budget after both Houses of Congress had already approved it.
However, House officials have insisted they have not done anything wrong and on the contrary, it was their Senate counterpart which inserted provisions for their pet projects at the expense of the President’s priority programs.
Majority Leader Fredenil Castro insists that the House of Representatives, under SGMA leadership, has clearly defined its legislative agenda to be always in accord with and always in full support of Duterte's priority bills and programs.
“Amid downright intrigues and bizarre accusations, the HoR worked hard to enhance transparency and accountability in the 2019 General Appropriations Bill,” Castro avers, adding their action is in sync with Duterte's strong and unflinching stance against corruption and wastage of public funds.
Minority Leader Danilo Suarez echoes Castro’s position saying the budget was drafted and passed by the House of Representatives according to long-established and duly constituted legislative processes.
Maybe the Senate should commit itself to making public what it had done to the proposed budget and start itemizing their lump sum proposals.
Some sectors are beginning to raise doubts on the Senate’s allegations against the House leader over the budget, insinuating the senators might be the ones guilty of illegal acts and are trying to cover up for their misdeeds by pointing to the House instead.
Open up everything and let the people decide on who’s to blame for the budget mess.
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Amid the intrigues and allegations thrown in China’s way by the critics of this government, the world’s biggest economic power has never shown any sign of vacillating in its commitment to help the Duterte administration in its campaign against illegal drugs use.
Just last Monday, a Chinese government-financed drug treatment and rehabilitation center in southern Philippines' Agusan del Sur province was turned over to the local government on Monday.
The 6,750-square-meter facility on a three-hectare lot is the second Chinese government-aided drug rehabilitation center in the Philippines to support the Philippine government's anti-drug campaign.
In inaugurating the facility, Jin Yuan, Chinese embassy's Economic and Commercial Counselor, reiterated China’s strong commitment to meet everything it had promised the Philippines, which he described as their friendly neighbor, as he stressed that China firmly supports the Philippine government's effort in improving its people's health.
The newly inaugurated drug rehabilitation center is a 150-bed capacity facility with an administration and clinic building. There is also a multi-purpose covered court, dormitory buildings, and visitors' house in the center. The whole project was undertaken by the China State Construction Engineering Corporation.
The drug rehabilitation center project, which broke ground in February 2018, was initially expected to be completed within 21 months.
What’s impressive is that the work had been accomplished eight months earlier than the target date as both Chinese and Filipino workers worked double time to finish the facility ahead of schedule.
According to Liu Wei, General Manager of CSCEC Philippine branch, their company hired more than 400 local workers and administrative staff to ensure that residents around the province benefit from the construction of the project.
To allay fears Chinese workers have been dominating their own projects, Liu averred they only hired 35 Chinese employees as their workload is only suited for Chinese nationals.
Department of Health Undersecretary Roger Tong-An, who represented the Philippine Government if the inauguration and turnover ceremony of the facility, said the Chinese-funded rehabilitation center is a clear manifestation of China’s unwavering support to the Philippines, contrary to critic’s claim China is only out to milk the country dry with a debt trap.
Edward Plaza, the governor of Agusan del Sur province, said this drug rehab center gives the local government a chance to solve the drug problem and to provide better help to the drug dependents in this province and provinces nearby.
"We would like to cooperate with our counterparts in DOH to address this issue," he added.
