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Tuesday, August 20, 2002
War with communists to cost RP: labor group
A LABOR group Monday urged Palace to go back to the negotiating table with the National Democratic Front (NDF) and save at least P50 billion annually in state funds.
Apparently, the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas is trying to convince the Palace not to continue with its planned all out war against the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed group New People's Army (NPA). Both have been included in the America's terrorist list.
At the same time, funding for the groups has also been cut off and Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye earlier said this could force the left leaning faction to negotiate.
Pamalakaya national chair Ferdinand Hicap expressed alarm over the reported breakdown of talks between the government and the NDF with the Palace apparently heeding the calls of the United States government to fold up the negotiations.
Apparently trying to convince the government, Hicap said shooting down the NPA would be much expensive compared to just talking to them.
"Instead of pushing the talks to proceed, the government prefers to spend billions of pesos-at least P50 billion-- on war," Hicap said.
To prove their point, Pamalakaya information chief Gerry Albert-Corpuz said already included in the 2003 budget is an P800 million "war funds" to be spent in hiring 7,000 soldiers and 15,000 paramilitary forces.
Sen. Ralph Recto, chairman of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, confirmed this allocation.
But Corpuz said the allocation only covers the salaries of the new recruits. It does not cover the cost of training and arming them, he said.
He also said the administration has also allotted P65.3 billion for its 2003 Defense budget, including the P5 billion fund for the modernization program and P2.95 billion for salary hikes of AFP personnel as mandated by a recently passed law.
With all these money going to its war kitty, Hicap said there is no doubt that talking peace would actually be cheaper by P50 billion.
"These savings are enough to put up 500,000 low cost housing units and put at least 1 million unemployed Filipinos back to work," he said. (Joshua Dancel) |
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