VICE PRESIDENT Jejomar Binay and Former Department of Transportation and Communication Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas III provided their respective takes on rural progress during the Conversations with Presidentiables on Countryside Development.
Binay is the presidential bet of the United Nationalist Alliance while Roxas is the standard-bearer of the ruling Liberal Party (LP).
The presidential discourse was hosted by the Galing Pook Foundation and was held at the San Alberto Hurtado Hall at the Social Development Complex on December 11.
According to its 2015 official primer, the Galing Pook Foundation is “a leading resource institution that promotes innovation, sustainability, citizen empowerment, and excellence in local governance.”
The entire presidential discourse was moderated by Ateneo School of Government Lecturer Edna Co, PhD.
In his opening remarks, Galing Pook Foundation Governor Rafael Coscolluela remarked that all presidential aspirants should acknowledge “that they cannot solve the [countryside’s] ills by themselves.”
Moreover, Coscuella stressed the importance of citizen involvement in countryside development. “The real magicians are you—the citizens who continue to engage the government in the task of nation building.”
Binay: “Go local!”
Referencing his accomplishments as mayor of Makati City for 20 years, Binay stressed that empowering local government units is the ultimate key to countryside development.
The opposition bet said that he “[has] always believed that if we could succeed in Makati, we could succeed in the larger scale.”
In addition, he stated that “if we are to talk about countryside development, then we are talking about local development. They are one and the same.”
Binay claims that several of the country’s problems emanate from the lack of funding and administrative power given to local government units (LGUs). “Sa ngayon, sakal pa rin ng pambansang pamahalaan ang mga pamahalaang lokal (As of now, local government units are still constrained by the national government).”
He noted that the “centralized” allocation and disbursement of funds in the health sector is the culprit behind the subpar quality of rural health centers, adding that the national government of “underspending.”
Moreover, Binay said that lack of growth in the agriculture sector can be attributed to the lack of agricultural subsidies provided by the national government.
In response to a question posed by Ateneo Task Force (ATF) Head Mawe Duque on how to ensure transparency and accountability in the smallest government units, Binay once again traced the problem to a lack of transparency and accountability on the national scale.
“Ang problema sa tamang pamamahala [sa lokal] ay kakulangan ng superbisyon at monitoring sa lebel ng nasyonal (The problem with good governance [in local government units] is the lack of supervision and monitoring in the national level),” Binay said.
The ATF is the official student body mobilization of the university for the 2016 national elections.
Roxas: “Ituloy”
While Binay clamors for the empowerment of LGUs, Roxas offers a different take on countryside development, suggesting a more centralized approach.
Roxas advocates for the use of bottom-up budgeting (BuB), which attaches a “Php 1,000 nominal value” to every Filipino.
In the BuB, Php 1,000 is distributed to every Filipino through his respective LGU. The LGU then consolidates its funds and decides as a locality which particular projects to implement.
He said that the cash flows to be provided by the BuB “is a guaranteed stream of development money that the locals can use.”
Roxas calls the BuB allocation as the “walang iwanan fund” or “karapatan fund,” as it promotes the inclusivity of growth.
He believes that the BuB program will significantly help far-flung provinces whose currencies do not circulate as much, citing the province of Apayao as an example.
“The reality is you need to bring money from the outside so that the level of income and quality of life improves,” he added.
Moreover, Roxas believes that this centralized approach should build on the values enforced during President Benigno Aquino’s administration such as consultative leadership, clean governance, and upholding the people’s interest.
According to the LP standard-bearer, “we are in a much better position than we were in 2010 [due to these values].”
“For the first time in many generations, here is a valid case to say ‘ituloy, itaguyod, [at] palawakin [ang values]’ (For the first time in many generations, here is a valid case to say ‘continue, establish, and expand the values,’” Roxas added.
