Sa panukalang 2025 national budget, ilang ahensya ng nadagdagan at nabawasan ng budget para sa susunod na taon. Department of Public Works and Highways o DPWH ang may pinakamalaking dagdag sa budget, habang ang Department of Education o DepEd naman ang may pinakamalaking tapyas sa budget.
Usap-usapan din ang zero subsidy para sa PhilHealth sa 2025 budget dahil umano sa nasa P600 billion na reserve fund ng ahensya. Ano nga ba ang implikasyon nito? Iyan at ang iba pang isyu tungkol sa 2025 national budget, sasagutin ni UP School of Economics Associate Professor Cielo Magno sa #TheMangahasInterviews.
Usap-usapan din ang zero subsidy para sa PhilHealth sa 2025 budget dahil umano sa nasa P600 billion na reserve fund ng ahensya. Ano nga ba ang implikasyon nito? Iyan at ang iba pang isyu tungkol sa 2025 national budget, sasagutin ni UP School of Economics Associate Professor Cielo Magno sa #TheMangahasInterviews.
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00:00There is an addition, subtraction, and magic that happened in the 2025 budget when the BICAM was passed by the Congress.
00:13Who won? Who lost? Who should answer?
00:18We will talk about these issues with Professor Cielo Magno of UP School of Economics
00:25and co-chairperson of the Civil Society Organizations of the World in the Open Government Partnership.
00:36She was also the chairperson of the UP Student Council. Good day, Professor Cielo.
00:42Good day, Ma'am Malu. You are also the chair of the UP Student Council.
00:48Professor Cielo, the 2025 budget, in summary, what happened? I think there is an addition and subtraction.
00:56Who won? Who lost? The funds.
01:00Yes, a lot of things happened and were added and subtracted in our 2025 proposed national budget.
01:08First of all, the PhilHealth that we always mention.
01:12The subsidy was removed for the premium of our indirect contributors.
01:20These are our poor countrymen, those with the four-piece program, our PWDs, and our seniors who are no longer working.
01:30The reason why they have a premium is the goal of our universal health insurance.
01:36All Filipinos should be enrolled in PhilHealth to be protected from catastrophic health expenses.
01:44Since they cannot pay, we have laws that indicate that the PhilHealth funds will go through specifically.
01:52That is the subsidy and it was removed. That amounted to P79 billion.
01:58We also saw in the discussion that P10 billion was reduced.
02:03The Department of Education has more than P10 billion. This is the budget for computerization.
02:08One of the biggest topias is the four-piece program. This is our social protection program.
02:15This is the government's assistance system.
02:18But I would like to clarify that because you saw in the press release,
02:22Speaker Ramon Valdez said that the assistance is from the justice system.
02:26That's why I'm asking why the four-piece was reduced to P50 billion.
02:30The four-piece is an institutionalized social protection program.
02:35It is clear that it is conditional.
02:37You will be given money from the government but you need to get medical treatment,
02:41you need to send your children to school, you need to upgrade your skills.
02:45Because it is clear that when assistance is given, there needs to be an exit program from poverty.
02:52Because it is an anti-poverty, anti-inequality program.
02:57On the other hand, what have been added?
03:01What are the gainers?
03:03The biggest gainer is the DPWH.
03:07They are not asking for an additional budget but they added more than P200 billion.
03:14Of course, the hot topic is the ACT-A program of Speaker Ramon Valdez which was increased last year.
03:21This year, it gave P26 billion and the division is said to be P21 billion for the House of Representatives and P5 billion for the Senate.
03:33Our Senate added their own budget by P1 billion and the House of Representatives added their own budget by P18 billion.
03:43The House of Representatives is bigger but if you divide it per head, the Senate is bigger.
03:51So those are some of the big items that added and reduced in the budget proposed for 2025.
03:59Okay.
04:00On field health, it is very hot topic because it seems that people don't understand that the subsidy that was removed is for the poor.
04:09And the premium, the direct premium payers are the people who are members and they are compensated for every salary of their field health contribution.
04:20So what will happen?
04:22Because they said that there are a lot of excess funds for field health.
04:26So even if you were not given a subsidy, you can still run without insurance.
04:31You know, we need to differentiate and clarify the excess fund versus surplus fund.
04:38In our national health insurance policy, our law clearly states that our congressmen and senators should have a reserve fund for field health.
04:50What is the definition of reserve fund? This is the fund that should not be spent by field health.
04:56You should have a backup.
04:59You know, we are just forecasting how much an insurance company will spend in a year.
05:07You are estimating that using different parameters but you need to study the probability of getting sick and all the members.
05:15How much are the possible expenses and that is the importance of having a reserve fund because it can exceed your estimate.
05:23If it exceeds, you have a reserve fund. If it does not exceed, it's good because you have savings.
05:28The surplus means beyond the reserve fund.
05:33If you have more money than your reserve fund, that is your surplus.
05:38But if you look at the financial statements of field health, its equity is already negative.
05:45Meaning, this is what the reserve fund is declaring that we don't know how much it is because Senator Grace said it's P600 billion.
05:53President said it's P500 billion.
05:55The other day, the one who interviewed field health said it's P431 billion.
06:01So how much is it really?
06:04What they are saying is that the problem of field health is that you need to be in the hospital or you need to be in a critical condition so you can benefit.
06:13They said they will increase the benefits packages.
06:17But what the members are saying is the support value or the contribution of field health.
06:22If the professional fee is already deducted, the medicines that are not in the formulary are deducted,
06:29meaning it's not enough.
06:30So it's like there can be more expansion or use of funds like ambulance care, emergency care, or annual physical check-up,
06:38which is not available now.
06:40You still need to be in critical condition to benefit from field health.
06:45That's right. It's really not enough because what field health covers is almost 15 to 20 percent of our expenses.
06:54There are people who message me saying that they need to be confined for 24 hours before they can benefit from field health.
07:04But actually, field health has a starting program.
07:07This is called a consulta package.
07:10In the consulta package, all members of field health, which means the entire population of the Philippines,
07:17have an intake, meaning there is a check-up.
07:19It includes laboratory, x-ray, mammogram, etc.
07:24The budget that field health covers is P1,700 per head.
07:29That's why I'm saying that the President's data is wrong because he said that the budget of field health is P1,500,000,000,
07:37P150,000,000,000 a year.
07:41In the consulta package, if there are P1,700 per person and there are P114,000,000,000 Filipinos,
07:49that's already at least P190,000,000,000 if you multiply and round.
07:55So where did the P150,000,000,000 come from?
07:59We still need to consult that.
08:01Actually, we had an estimate from doctors and we are looking at how to implement it.
08:07That package will reach P350,000,000,000.
08:13If that's the estimate, your reserve fund should reach P700,000,000,000 a year.
08:20Correct.
08:21But when we talked about field health, how many hospitals and health facilities offer e-consulta?
08:31That's still far from our last mile towns and areas.
08:38How is that?
08:39It won't reach the people.
08:41Maybe we really need to have an e-consulta but there are no health centers or hospitals.
08:46Exactly.
08:47In P1,700, doctors have been saying for a long time that the rate is too low.
08:53If the rate is that low, even if you say that the program exists,
08:58the service providers who want to affiliate with field health will not be able to use that service.
09:05I want to clarify that because people may think that if there is no budget, field health will have no money.
09:12So field health will have money because the workers will automatically be withheld.
09:18We have no choice.
09:19It will be deducted from our salary.
09:20The big problem is that the government is not fulfilling its own responsibilities
09:27and we, the workers, we contribute.
09:30The government, according to our laws, should contribute whether there is money or not.
09:36That is the obligation of the government to us.
09:39But unfortunately, that is what the government is doing.
09:42That's why I'm angry because it's like the government is exploiting us.
09:47The government is taking the contribution of the direct members, the premium,
09:52to help those who are not yet paying, the indirect members,
09:59because they are poor and have no means.
10:03But the problem is, according to the Universal Healthcare Law,
10:08those who are not registered and field health,
10:12those who are not registered, you need to register to benefit from the so-called Universal Healthcare Law.
10:19Yes. Actually, field health also has a database.
10:22Sometimes when you are hospitalized and you are told that you don't have a job or you are a senior citizen,
10:27you should go to the database.
10:29They can encode it.
10:30We just need to update our status so that it can be benefited.
10:35But you know, I don't deny field health because there are so many problems.
10:39I challenge them.
10:41They should cover 60 to 70 percent of the cost of healthcare.
10:47And there are many who are far from it.
10:49That's why there seems to be a deviation or a mistake in what our politicians are saying.
10:55Because they are saying that they are not giving the field health fund as a punishment.
10:59What they are punishing here, if we don't give it,
11:03first, you are not doing your obligation to the people of the country.
11:07Second, if you don't give the entitlement of the field health fund,
11:12the premium of those who cannot contribute will be paid by ordinary workers.
11:19Third, we will not be able to expand.
11:22So what we are saying is business as usual.
11:25This is the kind of service that we are not happy with.
11:29Okay. Now, the hospitals and service providers have insisted that sometimes field health is too slow to pay.
11:36Yes, there are also health centers that seem to be cheating.
11:40For example, if it's just a flu, suddenly it becomes a chronic or acute ailment,
11:47the cost of field health seems to be higher.
11:49How about that issue, corruption?
11:51Both sides, supply and demand.
11:53That's right.
11:54Actually, it is often discussed.
11:58And here in doctors, in hospitals that are not paid,
12:02many are reaching out to me, especially in small hospitals.
12:06A year before they are paid for field health, they are already paying.
12:10Usually, these small hospitals are the ones who are catering to places that are far from the center.
12:16So it's up to them to talk about it.
12:19Sometimes what they say is, even if the patient has field health,
12:22there are people who write to me directly telling their story.
12:28Their parents have cancer and they need to go to the hospital.
12:32They are entitled to field health because their parents are seniors.
12:36The hospital itself is the one who says,
12:38Ma'am, let's just charge at the Malasakit Center, it's easier.
12:42Because there are a lot of requests and we are not sure if we can reimburse.
12:47So these situations, we know Malasakit Center was started by a politician and is associated with a politician.
12:54This is the saddest part because we are destroying the stable programs that have potential,
12:59that are institutionalized to make our lives easier.
13:02It's being destroyed and we end up going to the programs of politicians.
13:07Corruption, there are a lot.
13:10Do you know why the discussion of field health will not end here in the budget?
13:14Because what should be followed is the organizational reform of field health,
13:18the corruption in field health that should be discussed continuously,
13:22that should not be stopped so that once and for all, we can have a proper healthcare program in the Philippines.
13:30As for corruption, I was also told by hospital owners that sometimes,
13:34when they are being reimbursed, they are not being processed downstairs but they are being placed.
13:39So we need to strengthen the oversight downstairs,
13:42not just between the hospitals and field health,
13:48but there needs to be a third party, maybe a representative of patients,
13:52that looks at this and has an oversight so that there is greater accountability and transparency
13:58and the process of hospital reimbursement can be faster.
14:03So it's worse, but that's where it started.
14:07If you don't give a fund, the institution will be destroyed, right?
14:11And the government will not do its responsibility.
14:14There is no membership association of field health members.
14:18They don't have an association.
14:20It's good that all Filipinos have an association because we are all members.
14:26Now, there was also a discussion about the fund for the Christmas party and the field health merchandise.
14:34What is your view on that?
14:35Because it seems that people are always in a hurry,
14:39there are a lot of bonuses that have been promised.
14:43Now, there are parties and merchandise for distribution where the original budget is just P100 million.
14:49I think it's P137 million, the anniversary budget of field health.
14:55It's sad because people are debating if there is a fund or not.
14:59We are not happy, the service is not enough, we cannot benefit from it.
15:04Suddenly, there is a budget of P137 million in the anniversary package.
15:09It seems like it's not necessary.
15:11Especially the giveaways.
15:13For us, it's better if you prioritize your work and livelihood.
15:19But you know, it's also disappointing because aside from the official field health,
15:24we are the ones who call them, they should resign or they should be fired.
15:28Because we can see that they are the ones who are lacking in doing the work.
15:32But field health also has a board.
15:34And if there are bonuses that are spent by field health,
15:38it is approved by the board of field health.
15:40And the board of field health are the members of the President's Cabinet.
15:45It shares the DOH Secretary.
15:48It includes the Secretary of DBM, Secretary of Finance, Secretary of DSWD.
15:53I think it's also included, right?
15:57But in the past few years, it seems like it's a bit of a mess
16:01because the President of the field health, even if he's not a doctor,
16:06and the health secretaries are the chairperson of the field health,
16:10it seems like these discussions are not just being done by DBM.
16:14So you mentioned that maybe the field health officials should review their tenure or appointments.
16:21What did they do wrong and what should be their responsibility?
16:26Well, first of all, I believe that they are the true representatives of the field health
16:31and the field health members.
16:32They should be the ones who are defending the budget of the field health, right?
16:35They are the ones who proposed a budget of P175 billion.
16:40Correct.
16:41And from the start, because we saw documents in the deliberation of the House of Representatives
16:47when they were first discussing the budget of the field health,
16:49in DBM alone, the premium counterpart of the government was reduced.
16:53Normally, the premium is P6,000.
16:57The government reduced the premium that it wants to pay for seniors to P5,000.
17:05If you're a four-piece, the counterpart of the government is only P3,500.
17:09They also reduced the number of enrolled.
17:11That's why it was reduced from P175 billion. It got smaller and smaller.
17:17Then the field health said, yes, they have money.
17:22Why did you suggest P175 billion?
17:24When they were given P75 billion, they said it's okay.
17:26When they were given P50 billion, they said it's okay.
17:28When they were given P0 billion, they said it's still okay.
17:30They do not represent the interest of the institution and the people they should represent.
17:37They are just like yes-men who are more interested in keeping their jobs
17:42than doing their true obligation to the citizens.
17:46That's why they should be fired, right?
17:50But the mix of the career service personnel of the field health and other government agencies,
17:55I salute their dedication and skill.
17:58The problem is that in Tuk-Tuk, there are political appointees
18:03who have no connection to the work of their agency.
18:06But they are there, so it's like a loyalty check.
18:09Just be quiet if they want to do something, even if it's a reduction.
18:15We talked to the workers union of the field health.
18:19In fact, we talked to them when we first filed a case about the P90 billion
18:24that the Department of Finance is getting from them.
18:27They are supportive of the move we made and they believe that the P90 billion should not be given.
18:34I forgot that I have one more story.
18:37That's why this is irritating to the field health.
18:39It's not just that the subsidy was removed.
18:43In 2023, the government is really reducing its obligation.
18:48Correct.
18:49But the field health has been around for a long time.
18:51It's 15 years. We looked at the data.
18:53In the past years, it's correct that the government is giving a little more.
18:58In 2023, because the computation is accurate, it's 40 percent.
19:03The exact language is 80 percent of the 50 percent of excise tax collection
19:09from tobacco and tobacco products and sugary beverages.
19:14The excise tax should go as a support to the field health fund.
19:19If you multiply 80 percent of 50 percent, that's 40 percent.
19:23So it's accurate. You can compute it.
19:25If you know how much excise tax was collected from tobacco and sugary beverages,
19:31if you multiply that, you can get how much the field health should get.
19:35And we saw that in the beginning of 2023, it was reduced.
19:40In 2024, the Secretary of the BBM himself said that it's okay to reduce the field health.
19:49It's still in the health sector.
19:50It was transferred to the Medical Assistance Program for Indigent Patients.
19:58That's the magic.
20:00In the past, CSOs were looking into the collection of syntaxes
20:07and what was the contribution to the universal health care law, particularly in field health.
20:12But the documents and records were not open.
20:16You know, we've been asking for the actual computation of excise tax for a long time.
20:21But we got the figure from Senator Coco Pimentel
20:26because we are in agreement with Senator Coco in filing cases and solving these issues.
20:32That's why we were able to compute the accuracy of the transfer of the government towards field health.
20:39And this is what we saw that was transferred to MAIP.
20:42This is the general sense.
20:45So field health is institutionalized.
20:48People don't have to fight with politicians to pay the hospital bill.
20:53It was transferred to MAIP.
20:55This MAIP is what you need, a guarantee letter from politicians to give you money to pay your hospital bill.
21:03It means that you have to beg first and recognize that you got this because of the mayor or the government.
21:10Okay.
21:11Now, that huge amount of funds,
21:13they say that aside from the DPWH or School Building Program as spoken for
21:19by congressman or senator so-and-so or by governor and mayor so-and-so,
21:24it is included in the hidden budget of the country.
21:31Especially in the election year next year.
21:33What is your view on this? Is this an election year budget?
21:37That's right.
21:38Actually, it started in 2024 because 2024 is the pre-election year.
21:44Now, we can see that they have already filed their candidacy.
21:47This is the period where you can really campaign without limits
21:52because our actual election period will start in February.
21:56That's why we saw the roadshows.
21:58So this 2024 and 2025 budget is really an election budget.
22:03That's why it's even more overwhelming.
22:06This is another one.
22:07I'm giving you high blood.
22:08This is another unique one.
22:11The president said, we are fixing this.
22:14Where are you hiding, Mr. President?
22:18If you don't know the budget that you're talking about,
22:21what are you fixing?
22:22You're exaggerating.
22:23The huge unprogrammed appropriations, right?
22:29He said, DPWH is not getting bigger because our flagship projects are there.
22:35Mr. President, your flagship program is not in the DPWH.
22:40It's in the unprogrammed appropriations.
22:42Your flagship programs are not funded by the Congress.
22:47Okay.
22:48You should know that.
22:50You're even exaggerating that in your zone.
22:53Our problem aside from the field health,
22:58if the number of agencies has decreased,
23:01but there are still aid packages galore.
23:07There are also confidential and intelligence funds.
23:09You mentioned the unprogrammed funds.
23:11How is the system there?
23:13The confidential fund exploded in 2024.
23:18There were a lot of agencies that applied and wanted to have a confidential fund.
23:23They were looking for a discretionary confidential fund.
23:27It was subject to a lot of hearings in Congress.
23:30We saw that it was very prone to corruption.
23:33You just said the probability of corruption.
23:37We studied a specific case, the confidential fund of VP Sara.
23:42We saw that it was very prone to corruption because it tried to liquidate the money
23:47for the use of bogus vouchers like Mary Grace Piatos.
23:55It's sad because VP Sara has almost 500 million confidential funds for two years.
24:02The President has 5 billion confidential funds.
24:07But the 5 billion confidential and intelligence funds also started during the time of Duterte.
24:13During the time of President Aquino, the presidential confidential fund only reached 500 million.
24:19So during the pandemic, that's when it increased from 500 million to 5 billion.
24:27Again, if we're going to base a sample on what VP Sara did,
24:33I wonder if that's how politicians appreciate confidential funds.
24:39Even though we don't have a law, there's a Joint Memorandum Circular
24:43that determines how that fund will be spent.
24:46It looks like there are a lot of violations that are not followed.
24:50That means the confidential fund has a special audit,
24:54but it's not accountable to people because we don't see it.
24:58We only saw Mary Grace Piatos because there was a congressional hearing.
25:04So we saw that she's really prone to corruption.
25:09Out of the 405 to 600 plus signed and received funds,
25:15there's no record in the Philippine Statistics Authority, birth certificates in particular.
25:20So they're using fake names to liquidate this.
25:24We see that they're not taking seriously any kind of audit that is put in place at the moment.
25:32What's disappointing and true is that we don't have a law on confidential funds.
25:37So maybe after the hearing in Congress,
25:42we will expect our legislators to pass a law on confidential funds.
25:48In fact, it should not be confidential funds.
25:50The House of Representatives and the Senate have their own confidential funds.
25:54The MOOE, which is just a liquidation, is similar to the confidential fund by certification.
26:01Actually, if there's someone who will work hard, they can question the Supreme Court
26:06because there's no such provision in the Supreme Court.
26:08There's no confidential fund or MOOE.
26:11Our Constitution clearly states that there should be a mechanism of accountability for the spending of the country's money.
26:20It's not a law so it can be questioned by the Supreme Court.
26:24As Vice President Sara said,
26:28why am I the only one investigating confidential funds of the President, Senate, and Congress?
26:34You even added funds for yourselves for the next year.
26:39So if we're liquidating the confidential fund of VP Sara,
26:42we should also liquidate the confidential fund of the President.
26:45That's what I'm asking.
26:46The confidential and intelligence fund of the President is even bigger
26:50than the total intelligence funds of the intelligence agencies.
26:56Is there an intelligence office for the President?
27:01Is it bigger than his intelligence agencies?
27:04If you're asking, the President has a lot of options
27:08to decide what to do with the 2025 budget.
27:11Return it to the Congress, veto it by line item,
27:15restore what's left,
27:17remove what's been added,
27:19or just leave it as is where it is.
27:24The President has no power to add budget to programs that lost their budget.
27:30He can just veto or remove the programs that he thinks are just for show,
27:38for example ACAP, he can veto it.
27:41But he can't add budget to PhilHealth because PhilHealth's budget subsidy is not a line item
27:48because it was not given a budget.
27:51It's an HUSB budget.
27:53Yes, yes.
27:54So the best thing to fix that is to reduce DPWH because even DPWH,
28:01they admitted that it's only 60 plus percent capacity to implement projects
28:06and yet they're giving more than 200 billion.
28:09The best thing to do is to return the budget to the Congress
28:14so they can have a special hearing and fix it.
28:17Don't overdo it.
28:19Our interests should be reflected in the budget.
28:22Their interest in the budget that they issued is too obvious.
28:27So what other senators said when they went to buy-cam,
28:31they were surprised because there was nothing to talk about,
28:34the additions, the additions, the reductions.
28:37The problem is that our congressmen, House and Senate,
28:43don't want to return it to them because it's recess, it's Christmas break.
28:48So what will happen if they return it but the Congress doesn't want to repeat it
28:53to return the budget deliberation, will there be a re-enactment of the 2024 budget for 2025?
29:00That's what will happen.
29:02If there's no re-enactment of the budget for 2025, we will have a re-enacted budget.
29:07The 2024 budget will be effective.
29:09But I want to go back to what you said that there are other senators reacting
29:13that even they don't know what's happening in buy-cam.
29:16We've been calling for a long time to make the process of buy-cam transparent.
29:21Correct.
29:22The rule in buy-cam was just set by our congressman.
29:26For the longest time, the process is opaque.
29:31We can only see who the members are but how the deliberation happened,
29:35who has bright ideas to make the budget transparent.
29:39We don't know, we don't see the minutes.
29:42It's not live-streamed.
29:44That's why we warned last year when we saw the 2024 budget,
29:50to live-stream it.
29:51We want to see the discussion.
29:53But even the senator, I mean Marcos himself said that there are a lot of magic happening in the budget.
30:00You know, it happens every year.
30:02Actually, those magic in buy-cam is not only happening in the budget buy-cam,
30:07but also in the laws that they pass.
30:10But that's part of the call.
30:12There needs to be a little effort to be transparent and accountable to the people.
30:17All right.
30:18They say, as far as we know,
30:20after the buy-cam, the enrolled copy of the budget,
30:24it's not read because it's too thick.
30:27It's like 4 books in bulk.
30:30It's like 5 kilos per book.
30:32And the insertions are not only in the buy-cam or the enrolled copy,
30:36but also in the printing office.
30:38You can add or subtract.
30:41So it means that OBRA really wants our budget,
30:46the so-called General Appropriations Act.
30:49Yes.
30:50Because the process is really opaque.
30:52Only a few people really have control over it.
30:56And the contractors that we interviewed in our stories,
31:01the problem is that the bulk or the number of congressmen is increasing.
31:07It's 30 to 50 percent now.
31:09And during the election, it's like a notice of award,
31:14not a notice to proceed.
31:16There's a demand.
31:18It should be advanced.
31:19It should be advanced.
31:20If the politician wins, it's hard to protest.
31:23If he loses, it's pitiful to protest.
31:26So how is that?
31:27During the election year, the budget and the projects are being molested.
31:33Yes.
31:34I hope the contractors will also speak up.
31:36Because they are also the ones who are being molested.
31:40Because if your infrastructure collapses,
31:44and you save money because of the corruption of politicians,
31:48you will also be charged if the infrastructure you built collapses.
31:53So you should also be united with the people,
31:56and we should call for a reduction.
32:00If we can eliminate corruption in government,
32:03all of us will benefit.
32:05Unfortunately, we, the public, don't know that
32:09because it's a secret between the DPWH, the contractors, and the politicians.
32:15Okay.
32:16Prof Shelo, you came from the Department of Finance as an undersecretary.
32:20But let's talk about the supply side of our budget.
32:25What is the revenue forecast?
32:27Will we be able to collect more?
32:30They say that there are no more non-revenue sources of funds
32:35to sell or sell government properties.
32:40What is the situation?
32:41Because it looks like the budget is tied to debt.
32:46Well, during the time of Secretary Jok,
32:50the target was clear to reduce the deficit and overall debt to 60% of GDP.
32:57The deficit should only be at 3%.
33:00But now it's at 6-7%.
33:02At that time, we identified some laws that should be implemented
33:07and these laws should be revenue generating, not revenue eroding.
33:12But it looks like those laws are side by side
33:15and the other laws that are being implemented,
33:17like the mining tax, the amendment to the mining tax.
33:21When I was there, I really suggested that the government's revenue from mining should be big.
33:27The version that came out of the House of Representatives, instead of increasing it,
33:31they lowered the royalty from 5% to 3%.
33:35Because that's what the Senate is currently deliberating on.
33:38So we also need to monitor that.
33:40So you will suddenly think, what does the government really want to do?
33:44The budget is already big, but they don't want a new revenue generation.
33:47What else did we recommend there?
33:49According to the World Health Organization, if you have SIM taxes,
33:54the burden on consumers should be around 70% so that they will change their behavior.
34:01Because the idea is, that's why you are taxing them to stop smoking,
34:05to stop consuming alcohol.
34:09Our excise tax is already low there.
34:12So if you are the government, this is good because it's two in one.
34:15You can raise revenue and at the same time address public health concerns.
34:21That's not on the agenda of the current administration.
34:25I'm not wondering why it's not there.
34:28Because you saw the position of the Secretary-Recto when he was still a senator regarding SIM taxes.
34:34The President is the same.
34:36There are bills that continue to be passed that are revenue eroding.
34:40It means that the government will create more.
34:45There are plans to provide more, more, more incentives.
34:48Duterte's time has just passed.
34:50It has just been implemented.
34:52But it was passed.
34:53Did you ask how much will be the revenue erosion because of the law that passed it?
34:59I'm sure it's revenue eroding because you just gave incentives without understanding
35:05that investors are not just relying on incentives to invest in a country.
35:12So the problem is with these things, you call them opaque or secret.
35:19The mining industry sector, particularly, you are familiar with EITI, Extractive Industries Transparency Indexing,
35:29which you were doing before.
35:31The problem is, mining is said to be the relatives of the President of the BBM, those in that sector.
35:40First of all, the Romualdez family, there are also Alcantara.
35:46Actually, when we say extractives, it's not just mining of mineral ore per se,
35:53but also all other extractive sectors.
35:59How is that?
36:00They are the ones in the position.
36:03Actually, it's not just friends and colleagues.
36:05Our miners are also politicians.
36:08That's a huge conflict of interest.
36:11That's why when I was there, I was not surprised why instead of raising the tax, they lowered it.
36:17As you mentioned, the Romualdez family, their main business is mining.
36:23That's why the conflict of interest is also highlighted there.
36:28Again, I'm saying that the people of the country need to be monitored.
36:31If I stay in the DOF, I can't speak because I'm tolerating these practices.
36:37But I can't ignore my advocacy that the people of the country and the government should be fair in mining.
36:47I will just keep quiet so I can stay in the mining sector.
36:50So I decided to go out so I can say that Speaker Romualdez has a conflict of interest here in the mining sector
36:57that the tax should be raised but lowered.
37:00We need to monitor that.
37:02Another important law that needs to be followed in relation to mining is the Beneficial Ownership Law.
37:08Correct.
37:09This is not prioritized.
37:11This is a standard practice globally.
37:14This is a commitment of the Philippines to many international organizations that are members of this law.
37:21This is not prioritized.
37:24Because if the Beneficial Ownership Law is implemented,
37:27there will be a public database and we will see the conflict of interest of all politicians.
37:34This is an example of a law that we should have in order to reduce corruption.
37:40But we know that the politicians will do lip service so this will not be implemented and will not be prioritized.
37:46Recently, the problem of mining is that there is a ban on a large scale.
37:52Then there is a ban on a small scale.
37:54Then it was revoked.
37:55Then during the time of Secretary Gina Lopez, there was a review and there was an audit.
38:00During the last year of President Duterte, it was restored.
38:05During the time of President BBM, there was a go-ahead.
38:10After two or three decades, there was an issue.
38:16So those large concerns, those large mining concerns,
38:20you are talking about beneficial ownership but it is a huge project.
38:24But you don't know who is behind these projects and who will benefit.
38:31Exactly.
38:32During the time of President Aquino, when he issued the EO79,
38:37there was a moratorium on the issuance of new licenses.
38:40We saw that we need to fix this sector because there is a lot of overlap.
38:45The mining areas also have protected areas so it needs to be rationalized
38:52to ensure that there will be no damage to the environment and other uses of the area will not be compromised.
39:00That is why President Duterte continued that moratorium.
39:04But even though there were no new policies during that time,
39:07it was lifted before his term ended and licenses were issued.
39:12Opportunity to reward individuals.
39:16So we don't know who is getting the license or bidding.
39:20We can only see on the list of MGB that there are licenses.
39:25That is why it is sad because the regulation is not being strengthened
39:31and the policies that should be better for the sector are being put in place.
39:37It seems like the documents are also hidden,
39:40the Environmental Impact Assessment, Environmental Compliance Certificate,
39:44the Pre-Informed and Prior Consent of the residents in their areas.
39:49In the FOI manual of the DENR, these are included in the exemptions.
39:55These documents cannot be released.
39:58Yes, but in the EITI, we started to release it.
40:02It is not complete but to be honest, those are the basic information
40:06that the mining community should read before allowing it to happen.
40:11They saw the possible consequences of mining in their area.
40:17You know, we have a bigger problem because we already have a mine
40:23but in the context of climate change, we are transitioning to renewable energy.
40:29But when we transition to renewable energy,
40:32it will create even bigger demands for transition minerals,
40:37including nickel and copper, where we are one of the richest countries.
40:42So it means there will be an additional demand.
40:45Well, this administration is right.
40:47It should take advantage of the potential that there will be a demand.
40:52The price of these minerals will increase.
40:54But before we go there, we have to make sure that
40:58we will meet the global demand for energy transition.
41:01We will not sacrifice our communities
41:04because our country is the most prone to damage or negative effects of climate change.
41:11So it means that because there is a potential for money,
41:14the people will be able to earn.
41:16Because they are not yet sure if they will be able to earn.
41:20So let's go ahead and eat all those minerals.
41:24If you are a good government, what will you put in place?
41:27Environmental impact assessment.
41:30People should be informed.
41:32We should analyze that if we are going to mine here,
41:35they will not be more affected by the situation,
41:37especially due to the effects of the typhoon and the loss of water.
41:41So there is no proper regulation.
41:45There is no policy to put in place to improve transparency.
41:50There is no policy to reduce conflict of interest.
41:54There are policies that will benefit mining companies.
41:58There are policies to reduce the tax of waste
42:01that mining companies or large companies need to pay.
42:05There are also additional budgets for infrastructure projects that our congressmen want.
42:12Now, I just want to ask you,
42:14if we are going to rework the 2025 budget,
42:20what went wrong?
42:21What should the Congress do?
42:23First of all, unprogrammed appropriations should not be that big.
42:27Priority infrastructure should have a fund.
42:31We are talking about airports, subways, public transportation,
42:35that will make the lives of commuters and ordinary people easier.
42:39We should increase the budget for education
42:42because our poor performance globally in terms of reading, math, and science is very clear.
42:49And that is being monitored by investors in terms of evaluating
42:54how is the human capital in this country.
42:56Why would I come here if their 10-year-old is not good at reading?
43:01Investors are also looking if the people of the country are healthy.
43:05If they don't have health insurance, why would they come here?
43:08So, our investment decision in infrastructure and human capital should be clear.
43:14As an economist and professor,
43:17what do you think the people of the country should look at
43:21to say that the economy is advancing or declining?
43:28Because in all the surveys,
43:30what they say is an important issue for the people of the country
43:33is the price of goods, work, income, or housing.
43:39But this budget is a bit esoteric.
43:43It talks about big amounts, but they befuddle you.
43:46They could confuse you.
43:48The people of the country should look at this as an ask or demand.
43:53This is what we want to happen so that we can say that we are advancing.
43:58Yes, just like what you said.
44:00Our budget is correct because it has a direct effect on us.
44:04For example, the price of goods.
44:06The price of goods could increase,
44:08but it would be better if our purchasing power also increases.
44:12How can we have purchasing power if we don't have work?
44:15How can the government get work if there is no infrastructure?
44:19If they don't invest in their people?
44:21So how can we translate these requests?
44:24First of all, we need to see that there is investment in agriculture
44:28so that our farmers' productivity can be expanded.
44:32If our farmers' productivity is expanded,
44:35they can contribute in lowering the price of goods.
44:39But at the same time, as workers,
44:42we should be able to see if the government is passing a budget for our upskilling,
44:46our trainings for free so that if we want to study again,
44:51we can find a better job if there are programs that the government is giving us.
44:58The quality of education that our children will receive should be free.
45:04It should really contribute to finding a good job.
45:09The programs that the government is giving can create jobs.
45:14Are they investing in programs that will be beneficial to us?
45:20If you look at it, what are the determinants?
45:23What are the programs that can attract jobs?
45:25First of all, the government should be clean without corruption.
45:28If we only see corruption in the budget, no investor will go to us.
45:33Are they investing in technology and upskilling of the workforce?
45:38Because Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia are spending a lot of money on technology and infrastructure.
45:44If your infrastructure projects are programmed appropriation,
45:48who will invest in us?
45:51So that's right.
45:52Let's see what benefits us because what benefits us is what benefits the whole country.
45:58That's why we should expect that the government will invest in us,
46:01in our health, in our education, in our public transportation, in our agriculture,
46:08in the sectors that are important to us.
46:11And if we don't monitor that, the interests of the politicians will benefit.
46:16But Prof. Shielo, next year is the election year.
46:19And most people seem to have immediate relief
46:22because there are those who will sell and buy votes.
46:27There are also all sorts of relief that the government will give.
46:33At the same time, the candidates are mostly from the families.
46:38They should have a family reunion budget in the GAA
46:42because it's like if the survey is dead,
46:45the winners will be parents, children, siblings, etc.
46:54So how is that?
46:56Our politics is also based on the favor that people get from politicians.
47:03Our politicians are just singing and dancing,
47:07or our election is a popularity contest.
47:10Where do you see hope coming from?
47:13You know, we cannot blame our fellow countrymen
47:16because in the middle of their lives, they really received those benefits
47:20because it also came from our taxes.
47:22Think about it, if our government is more honest,
47:24you will get more from the help they give you.
47:28If we have a proper education,
47:30it will be better for your children to study
47:33and it will be better for them to have a job for their future.
47:37If our politicians are honest, our healthcare might be free.
47:41We don't have to go to the PhilHealth and ask for help from the government.
47:47So sometimes, maybe you should accept it.
47:49But if you choose to be a candidate,
47:51you should think about who should be the right person to fix the system.
47:56Because if we don't fix the system,
47:58we will be stuck with recycled, corrupt politicians
48:03that we see again and again, and members of the dynasties.
48:08Recycled, corrupt and recycled.
48:11Prof Shelo, what do you think is the outlook?
48:14Because the President made promises when he ran as a candidate
48:18that people will not forget the 20 pesos per kilo of rice
48:23and healthcare for everyone,
48:26health insurance, for all the people.
48:32What is the outlook by 2028?
48:34At this rate, our budget is growing so fast,
48:38the deficit, the debt, and the loss of the national budget.
48:45Yes, the 20 pesos per kilo of rice is a warning to us
48:50that we should not believe too much in what politicians say.
48:55So even if the President said that PhilHealth is not okay,
48:58what he said is that 20 pesos per kilo of rice will not happen until now.
49:02That's why we should not easily believe that the condition of our country will be okay
49:09unless we see what they have done concretely.
49:12As I said, it is tiring to be a Filipino because you need to work twice as much
49:18because your salary in one job is not enough.
49:21But you still need to make an effort to monitor the politicians.
49:25So aside from working two jobs, you still need to be a social media warrior
49:31and make noise and rally to monitor your interests.
49:36But if our candidates and politicians are better,
49:40we don't need to do that.
49:43But unfortunately, we're in this situation.
49:46So let's stick together.
49:48At least if we're together, our voices will be louder.
49:51Don't you get tired?
49:53Since you were a student in UP, you were a student council chairperson,
49:58then you were involved in civil society groups, local and international.
50:04And now, even if you're not in the Department of Finance,
50:07you're being visited by people for their complaints and questions.
50:12Don't you get tired of this?
50:14It's like a break.
50:18It's really tiring.
50:20But if we think about it, our children will benefit from this.
50:26It's sad because we can be quiet, we can rest.
50:30But is this the kind of government and society that we leave to our children?
50:35I feel sorry for what will happen.
50:38So whatever we can do as a part of society,
50:43we need to do extra work.
50:45This is our volunteer work so that our society is organized for all of us,
50:52the Filipinos.
50:53Because if we don't organize it,
50:55some of us can easily move to another country and look for a new citizenship
51:00because the Filipinos are tired.
51:02But some of us have no choice.
51:04We're just here in the Philippines.
51:06That's why we need to do this for those who have no choice.
51:10So that we can make a choice to be Filipinos.
51:15If we don't do that, by 2028, after the BBM admin,
51:20what will be your endgame?
51:23That endgame will determine what will happen in the first quarter of the year of 2025
51:29because we were beaten here in the impeachment discussion with VP Sara.
51:35I said that we can't blame anyone other than the leadership of the House of Representatives
51:42because all of these issues were brought up.
51:45Then we were beaten.
51:47No impeachment is happening.
51:49Then while they are doing these kinds of broadcasts on impeachment,
51:54they are also destroying the budget.
51:58It's not a distraction.
52:00Some people are saying that I'm distracting people on the issue of the budget.
52:03You should be targeting the impeachment of Sara.
52:05You should be targeting both of them.
52:08I hope all of them are targeted because you can't just focus on one issue.
52:13Exactly.
52:14It's not just VP Sara.
52:16I told her that she has a 500 million confidential fund.
52:20The President has 5 billion confidential funds.
52:23Senators and Congressmen have MOOE.
52:26They can't teach each other.
52:28We should not patronize or support just one politician
52:32because all of these are being discussed with the money of the people from our tax.
52:36We should monitor them.
52:38We should not detract from the politicians.
52:41We should detract from our interests because those taxes are being deducted
52:45from every facelift that we get every 15 or 30 years.
52:50Try to look at it.
52:51When I looked at my low salary in UP the other day,
52:54I suddenly looked at my facelift.
52:56I'm more of a high blood.
52:58Almost 25 to 30 percent of your salary goes to GSIS,
53:04to love, to philhealth, and to tax.
53:07So if you see your facelift, you will really get angry.
53:12Then you will realize that my loyalty should not be with my politics.
53:16It should be with my facelift.
53:19Correct.
53:20It should be with our facelift because if not,
53:23our story will be repeated again and again.
53:26It's like we're always being mocked.
53:28Politicians are always being mocked.
53:30And if that continues, their corruption will increase even more.
53:34The deficit in our facelift will increase even more.
53:36Instead of testing your son,
53:38they deducted your salary because you have to pay interest for the corruption.
53:44I hope everyone will look at it.
53:46I hope everyone will know.
53:49That's our New Year's wish.
53:53And if not, we are really facing a troubled 2025.
53:58Whether impeachment continues or not,
54:00a camp can say,
54:02the issue is back to you.
54:04It will affect the budget.
54:06That's why everyone who is being mocked,
54:10everyone who is affecting the country's money,
54:13should be held accountable.
54:14And our institutions should be strengthened
54:17because our institutions should effectively stop these corrupt politicians from being recycled.
54:26But if we weaken our institutions,
54:29it doesn't work.
54:31That's why we have recycled politicians.
54:33For example, the former president, Erap Estrada,
54:36was already convicted of plunder.
54:38So technically, he shouldn't be able to run.
54:40But GMA banned him.
54:42So it's because of politics.
54:45And after he was pardoned,
54:47the former president ran again,
54:49the former mayor.
54:50So we see the same people.
54:52Because effectively, our institutions for fighting corruption,
54:56accountability, are weak.
54:59So in our fight,
55:01it's not enough to just remove the individuals who are being mocked.
55:06So for example, this confidential fund,
55:08VP Sara will just remove VP Sara.
55:10Shouldn't we remove the confidential fund?
55:14But if you just remove one person who is associated with a confidential fund,
55:18then the confidential fund is still there.
55:20The corruption is still going on.
55:22The happiness is still there.
55:24Their Christmas is happy.
55:25Yes.
55:26Just them.
55:27Them.
55:28Not all of us.
55:29Okay.
55:30On that note, we would like to thank
55:32Professor Shelo Magno,
55:33Associate Professor of UP School of Economics
55:36and CSO Chairperson of Open Government Partnership.
55:41Have a good day.
55:42Merry Christmas, Professor Shelo.
55:44Thank you and Merry Christmas to all of you.