Zarate says econ managers are ‘outrageously, shamelessly’ out of touch with reality

FILE: “You are outrageously and shamelessly out of touch from reality,” Bayan Muna Representative Carlos Zarate said in a statement on June 6, Wednesday. (Photo: Karlos Ysagani Zarate/Facebook)

After a National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) official claimed that a Filipino is not considered ‘poor’ when he/she is earning P10,000 monthly, a lawmaker slammed the administration’s economic managers for being out of touch from with reality.

“You are outrageously and shamelessly out of touch from [sic] reality,” Bayan Muna Representative Carlos Zarate said in a statement on Wednesday, June 6.

“Sila kaya ang mabuhay na P10,000 lang ang budget para sa kanilang pamilya. Nasubukan na ba nila ito? Bumaba muna kayo sa inyong kinatututuntunganng matayog na pedestal at subukan munang pagkasyahin ang P10,000 nang kahit anim na buwan tapos saka kayo magsalita (They should try living with a budget of P10,000 for their family. Have they tried it? You should all go down from the high pedestals you are standing on and try living with P10,000 for at least six months then speak),” he dared

Zarate was directing his statement to President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s economic managers particularly: NEDA Director-General Ernesto Pernia, Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary Carlo Dominguez, and Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Benjamin Diokno.

“Ang hirap kasi ay puro sila projection at plano sa NEDA, DOF, at DBM pero hindi naman sila ang nakakaranas ng kahirapan na idinulot ng ipinilit nilang TRAIN (Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion) law. Tapos kapag nagreklamo ang mga tao sasabihin nilang ‘crybaby’ (The hard part is that they are all about projection and planning in NEDA, DOF, and DBM but they are not experiencing the difficulty that was caused by their forced TRAIN law. Then when the people start complaining, they will call them as a ‘crybaby’),” the lower house lawmaker continued.

Zarate was referring to Diokno’s comment that Filipinos “should be less of a crybaby” since former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s administration had an oil price of $135 per barrel.

“With inflation for May at an all-time high of 4.6%, these economic managers should be fired for adding a hefty burden on millions of Filipinos,” the solon added.

The Bayan Muna Representative was reacting to an interview reported by GMA on Tuesday in which NEDA Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon said that having a P10,000 monthly salary does not classify one as poor.

“Siguro nasa fifth decile ka na nun, ‘di ka poor. Kasi ang poor natin, mababa ‘yung poverty line (Maybe you are on the fifth decile, you are not considered poor. Because poor has a low poverty line),” she said in the report.