Congress told to prioritize food, education

THE PHILIPPINE Congress should allot more funds for programs on food security, health and education, political analysts said at the weekend.

“The key really is a long term development plan,” Antonio A. Ligon, a law and business professor at De La Salle University in Manila, said in a Viber message.  The government should build infrastructure to support these plans, he added.

More budget should also be allocated to agricultural  programs, livestock, poultry, as well as projects to ease the effects of El Niño.

Terry L. Ridon, a public investment analyst and convener of think tank InfraWatch PH, said lawmakers should devote funds to building infrastructure in underdeveloped areas.

“Congress should continue allocating significant resources to infrastructure, particularly in emerging and underdeveloped areas, because this has a real potential to encourage economic growth in these areas,” he said in an e-mail.

He said villages could only accommodate so many multi-purpose buildings, and funding might be better spent on better horizontal development, such as wider roads and bridges.

Mr. Ridon also cited the need to ensure contractors follow minimum labor standards and acceptable wages.

The proposed 2024 budget of P5.8 trillion will be submitted to Congress on July 24.

Increased infrastructure spending would not detract from the full support provided to the poorest, and disaster-vulnerable areas nor the social sector, and basic public services, the Budget department said in January.

There were 194 flagship infrastructure projects under the Marcos government’s Build, Better, More program as of May 9.

The projects had a total investment of P8.2 trillion, covering 14 projects in agriculture, five in digital connectivity, six in health, 119 in physical connectivity, one in energy, 44 in water and five in other infrastructure.

Infrastructure spending is expected at 5-6% of economic output until 2028. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz