CONSIDERING the massive size of funds given by donors, domestic and overseas, to the fight against Covid-19, there should follow a complete accounting and detailing of the funds used against the pandemic.
This way, there would be transparency as to how the public funds are being spent, adding to our credibility in our skill to handle the donated funds. The donors would definitely be pleased.
Per reports, the anti-Covid-19 expenses added up to P374.9 billion, a hefty sum indeed. No less than Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles disclosed the government's intention to undergo full accounting of the expenses in the coronavirus response amid calls for transparency.
Nograles disclosed that the president reports to Congress every Monday regarding how the money, in general, has been spent, with details or breakdowns of such being seen in the Commission on Audit report.
Fine, but the agencies given portions of the funds should disclose fully and truthfully the details to the president.
As of June 30, 2020, the Department of Budget and Management reported that the funds amounting to P374.9 billion have been released to concerned agencies for their Covid-19 related programs.
These agencies are: Department of Social Welfare and Development-P200.9 billion; Department of Finance-P88.5 billion; Department of Health-P48.23 billion; Department of Labor and Employment-P12.5 billion; Department of Agriculture-P11 billion; Department of Education-P10.9 billion and Department of National Defense-P1.1 billion. Other agencies were also given funds for Covid-related programs.
Fr. Rolando V. dela Rosa„ O. P. columnist of Manila Bulletin, talked about our toxic dependency on government leaders: It is about time that we put an end to our toxic dependency on government leaders as the source of our redemption. We have to start investing in faith in ourselves, in the infinite possibilities of our God-given gifts and basic goodness. The pandemic has showcased the heroism of ordinary Filipinos who, at their initiative, and with very little help from the government, create a ripple effect of positive changes in the lives of others. They are the ones who provide a glimmer of hope in the state of our nation today.
It was the president's penultimate State of the Nation Address last July 27, 2020, before he bows out in 2022. Or will he?
Several queries crop up relative to Fr. Dela Rosa's statements. How did we fare in the last five years? Have our lives improved or deteriorated? These basic questions the President must endeavor to answer truthfully and without his non-sensical rhetoric and fumbling speech! Ayayay.