Php 70.00 Vol. 44 No. 1 • JANUARY 2010 - IMPACT Magazine Online!

ADVERTORIAL
involved in the collusion and
bid rigging of the road projects.
The DPWH reaction was to
blacklist them only for World
Bank-assisted projects, leaving
them free to bid for non-World
Bank-assisted projects, if they
were found to be qualified.
However, the determination of
DPWH to verify their qualifications
to bid for these projects
was not demonstrated during
the budget hearings.
• The numerous errors in
the textbook series “English
for You and Me” are still extant
in spite of DepEd’s implementation
of the 4-step evaluation
process. The agency's
response to the problem of
classroom shortages has been
to resort to quadruple shifting,
which imposes such an
onerous burden on students as
young as Grade 1 who, while
being taught their English lessons,
are also forced to absorb
Science and even Health lessons
in just one period.
• Despite its regulations
that should phase out nonperforming
schools, given
that there have been nursing
schools registering 0% passing
percentage for more than
three years, the Commission
on Higher Education (CHED)
only managed to close down
one school, further exposing
parents and students to schools that are unable to adequately
prepare them for board examinations.
• The DA’s farm-to-market roads, which were meant to
ease the burden of our farmers in transporting goods, were
constructed in areas with no farms. Some were even built near
beach resorts. There were also projects with budgets that were
depleted by almost P60 million due to administrative costs
charged by the National Agribusiness Corporation (NABCOR)
for transferring funds first to the said corporation instead of
transferring it directly to the regional offices. Furthermore,
despite the COA's recommendation to discontinue the practice
of circuitous and unnecessary transfer of funds sourced from
the regular fund and the PDAF, DA still transferred a total of
almost P2 billion to NABCOR in 2008. In the same year, the
DA transferred P340 million to the ZNAC Rubber Estates
Corporation, whose officers were officials of the DA.
In my explanation of why I voted no to this budget, I
emphasized that these problems exist, but during the budget
hearings, the departments and their attached agencies did
not even try to convince us that they would embark on a
program to correct these findings. In the defense of the various
agencies' budgets, the overwhelming attitude seemed to
be a lack of desire to address the situation, if not an active
effort to allow it to continue. Why then should we approve
the budget submitted by these agencies?
LEGASTO: You’ve made your point, senator. But, what are
you going to do about it?
SEN. NOYNOY: I did try to prevent the General Appropriations
Act for 2010 from getting approved, but unfortunately,
my no vote was outnumbered by the ayes.
Looking forward, I am hopeful that if we are fortunate
to be elected in the coming elections, we will be able to
address what I feel are the four most urgent issues—job
generation, education, health and judicial reforms—despite
the huge financial burdens that we will inherit from the current
dispensation.
LEGASTO: What kind of leader will you be?
SEN. NOYNOY: I have great faith in democracy and believes
in the democratic principles of equal opportunity and
freedom. I also believe in persuasion rather than coercion
and dictation.
I am somebody who was educated by both his parents,
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IMPACT • January 2010