{"id":228381,"date":"2019-08-27T19:25:06","date_gmt":"2019-08-27T23:25:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=228381"},"modified":"2019-08-27T19:25:06","modified_gmt":"2019-08-27T23:25:06","slug":"palace-justifies-p8-2-b-op-budget-for-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2019\/08\/27\/palace-justifies-p8-2-b-op-budget-for-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Palace justifies P8.2-B OP budget for 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cThe Palace reiterates that the increase in the budget of the Office of the President, where the seat of power and supremacy in governance lies, is necessary in order to provide efficient, meaningful, and effective public service to the Filipino people,\u201d Panelo said in a statement on Tuesday. (Photo: Malaca\u00f1ang\/Website<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA<\/strong>\u00a0— Malaca\u00f1ang justified the Office of the President\u2019s PHP8.2-billion budget for 2020 stressing that the significant increase is necessary to help augment the possible shortage of funds in other agencies.<\/p>\n

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo made this reaction following backlash that the OP\u2019s budget increased by PHP1.5 billion compared to the PHP6.7 billion allocated for this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Palace reiterates that the increase in the budget of the Office of the President, where the seat of power and supremacy in governance lies, is necessary in order to provide efficient, meaningful, and effective public service to the Filipino people,\u201d Panelo said in a statement on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn times of national emergencies and calamities, coupled with cries for help from all walks of life, and when the departments and agencies that provide basic services or responses to the public run short of funds, the OP steps in to extend a helping hand and augment whatever shortage there may be in delivering the requisite assistance,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Panelo also said the amount is also meant to secure the country from internal and external threats since the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte is bent on fighting criminality in the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe intensified efforts of this government, with the Office of the President at the helm, against criminality and various perils against the Philippines’ security and sovereignty have indeed created a changed environment in our society where the people feel safe as they go about living their daily lives,\u201d Panelo said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe intend to maintain such an environment and even improve it in the remaining years of the Duterte Presidency,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Citing Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, Panelo acknowledged that the OP budget was also significantly lower during the previous administration.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs correctly pointed out by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea that while the budget allocation for the Office of the President during the time of former President Benigno Aquino III was significantly lower, its achievements and accomplishments are nonetheless commensurate thereto in that there was little to no substantial improvement in governance,\u201d Panelo said.<\/p>\n

Panelo also recalled how during last year\u2019s budget hearing, Medialdea said the OP\u2019s budget should be increased since PHP2.5 billion was not enough.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Palace seconds the Executive Secretary’s position on the matter, knowing that with the strong resolve of the President to pursue programs and policies that will finally bring genuine change to the nation, we will need the necessary financial support,\u201d Panelo said.<\/p>\n

Panelo further emphasized how proof that the administration\u2019s accomplishments are appreciated can be seen in surveys that show President\u2019s consistent high trust and approval rating.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people have seen and experienced in the three years of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte\u2019s presidency, an unprecedented success in many fronts, especially in the aspect of law and order, as well as in the overall public administration of the government,\u201d Panelo said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe unparalleled approval rating by the Filipino people in favor of this administration is proof of these accomplishments,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

In its proposed PHP4.1-trillion national budget for 2020, the OP gets a PHP8.2 billion budget which consists of PHP6.7 billion for maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE), PHP 1.1 billion for personnel services and PHP427 million for capital outlay.<\/p>\n

Of the OP\u2019s PHP6.7 billion MOOE budget, the office allocated PHP4.5 billion for confidential and intelligence funds.<\/p>\n

Last week, Panelo defended the PHP4.5 billion worth of funds allocated to the OP for intelligence-gathering noting that it was necessary to protect Filipinos against security threats.<\/p>\n

\u201cDapat naman sa (It should be in the) Office of the President, it has to have resources to determine iyong mga (the) threats against the state. Kailangan iyon (That\u2019s necessary), and you need money for that,\u201d Panelo said in a Palace briefing on August 22.<\/p>\n

He further said the OP is one of the \u201cbetter offices\u201d that can secure the security of the land, noting it is not exempted from accountability.<\/p>\n

\u201cNumber one si Presidente nga na ayaw ng corruption eh (The President is the number one person against corruption),\u201d Panelo said.<\/p>\n

\u201cLahat na mayroong hawak ng pera<\/em>\u00a0(All agencies that have funds) are required by law to account, so I don\u2019t think there is a problem with that,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MANILA\u00a0— Malaca\u00f1ang justified the Office of the President\u2019s PHP8.2-billion budget for 2020 stressing that the significant increase is necessary to …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":227771,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1145,16,95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-228381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headline","category-news","category-news-ph","mauthors-azer-parrocha","mauthors-philippine-news-agency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228381","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=228381"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228381\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":228382,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228381\/revisions\/228382"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/227771"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=228381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=228381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=228381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}