TACLOBAN CITY — THE senatorial candidates of Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas have pledged to push for bottom-up budgeting and stricter budget scrutiny to ensure that Eastern Visayas receives appropriate national funding.

In the slate’s press conference in Tacloban City on Thursday, former Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson emphasized the importance of empowering local government units (LGUs) by allocating a greater portion of the national budget to projects identified at the local level.

“It was in my track record when I was in the PNP, I institutionalized ‘yung bottom-up budgeting, to the tune of 15 percent or 15 percent to 85 percent. Fifteen percent sa headquarters, 85 percent sa frontline units,” Lacson said.

The former senator argued that the share of projects coming from local development councils should be increased from the current 20 percent to 25 percent, to at least 40 percent.

“Huwag na ‘yung 50-50 kasi marami ding obligation ‘yung mga national agencies. But, you know, ‘yung foundation ng ating development programs— infrastructure, livelihood, and so forth and so on—dapat nanggagaling sa mga local development councils,” he stressed.

Alyansa campaign manager and Navotas City Rep. Toby Tiangco, echoed Lacson’s sentiments and pointed to the growing recognition of bottom-up budgeting at the national level in the present administration.

“In addition sa question kung papaano makakatulong ang ating mga kandidato, I think the importance shown by the President today na mayroon siyang Regional Development Council meeting ngayon, ‘yun po ay konektado sa sinasabi ni Senator Ping Lacson na talagang kaya napakahalaga ‘yung Regional Development Council dahil dito po binubuo ‘yung mga proyekto na talagang kailangan,” Tiangco said.

Moreover, Tiangco stressed that national projects should be based on the needs identified by stakeholders within the regions.

“Hindi siya nanggagaling sa national level kung hindi ‘yung mga stakeholders doon sa region ang nagsasabi kung ano ‘yung mga proyektong napakahalaga sa kanila,” he said.

Meanwhile, other Alyansa candidates also pledged to look into the the national budget to ensure that funds are properly allocated and spent, including ACT-CIS Rep. Erwin Tulfo who stressed the need for accountability in the budget process.

“Let me just add, all of these—like ‘yung sa DICT, nababanggit kanina first question, promote tourism, tapos itong about agriculture—bottom line is it’s all about funding. It’s all about the budget.

Siguro naman, if we get the chance to be in Congress, lalo na itong grupo na ito, we will particularly scrutinize the budget for next year,” Tulfo said.

On the other hand, former Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto pointed out that the allocation of budget determines the success of various projects, particularly those in Eastern Visayas.

“It’s actually the same banana. You see, the single most important piece of legislation that Congress wants passed— both the House of Representatives and Senate— is the budget. So … for Eastern Visayas, you can be sure that if we’re there and we’re able to monitor the budget … like for example in this case, ‘yung Causeway Project. We’ll make sure that it is completed,” Sotto said.

Senator Francis “Tol” Tolentino likewise threw his support behind key infrastructure projects that could help drive economic growth in Eastern Visayas. He specifically endorsed the construction of a second San Juanico Bridge.

“Siguro po we support the construction of the second San Juanico Bridge. It’s just a 1.2-kilometer stretch that would really provide relief for the existing San Juanico Bridge … So ‘yung malalaking truck siguro doon sa bagong bridge, we will support that initiative,” he said.

The Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas slate also includes former Interior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos, Makati Mayor Abby Binay, Senator Ramon Bong Revilla, Senator Pia Cayetano, Senator Lito Lapid, Senator Imee Marcos, Senator Manny Pacquiao, and Deputy Speaker Camille Villar.

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Ryan Ponce Pacpaco