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News
October
18, 2009
SWP to 2010 Candidates: Support
alternative budget proposals for MDGs
TSocial Watch Philippines (SWP) called
on government officials aspiring for
positions in 2010 to support the
alternative budget proposals by civil
society groups so that the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) may be
realized.
The MDGs are a set of time-bound goals
comprising the national government’s
commitment to end poverty by 2015. The
United Nations recently reported that
the Philippines is lagging behind
targets in eliminating poverty,
achieving universal education, reducing
maternal deaths and combating HIV AIDS.
“We urge all those aspiring government
positions to support the alternative
budget proposals for P25 billion more
allocation for health, environment,
agriculture and education in the 2010
budget. This is the way for the
candidates to prove that they are
running for public office because they
really want to help end the worst forms
of human deprivation in this country,”
said former national treasurer Leonor
Magtolis Briones, lead convenor of SWP.
“The amount of P50 billion vague and
unnecessary budget items identified by
civil society groups which can be
realigned to funding for programs for
critical socioeconomic services should
be an election issue for serious
candidates,” Briones added.
SWP is supported by the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) and United
Nations Millennium Campaign (UNMC) in
proposing alternative budget proposals
for better allocation for MDG-related
programs through the Alternative Budget
Initiative (ABI). Through the ABI, SWP
leads 60 nongovernment organizations in
engaging in the national budget process
and initiating partnerships with
legislators for the alternative budget
proposals.
“We need P9.7 billion more to realize
our goals for education”, said Rene Raya
of Action for Economic Reforms (AER).
“The sad reality is that, historically,
Filipinos have been recognized as one of
the most literate and better educated
people in the developing world. However,
the country’s international standing in
education has been significantly eroded.
UNESCO’s Education Development Index
(EDI) for year 2008 ranked the
Philippines 75th among 125 countries,
falling behind most Asian countries such
as China, Malaysia, Indonesia and
Vietnam,” he added.
Meanwhile, Mercy Fabros of Woman Health
Philippines urged Congress to realign P3
billion to address problems on infant
and child mortality, maternal mortality,
family health and human resource issues
in the public health sector. “Latest MDG
Philippine Progress Report acknowledges
that among the MDG targets, those
directly related to health are the least
likely to be met. The Philippines is the
second highest among the ASEAN countries
in terms of infant and under-5
mortality. The World Health Organization
(WHO) reported that the Philippines’
maternal mortality ratio (MMR) is one of
the highest in Asia, at 162 per 100,000
live births in 2006,” said Fabros.
Isagani Serrano of the Philippine Rural
Reconstruction Movement (PRRM) called
for P11.4 billion more allocation for
the environment. ““Changing climate may
have caused the recent unusual flood in
many provinces but government has big
responsibility for its devastating
impacts on people especially the poor.
Our vulnerability to extreme weather
events like abnormal rains increases
with lack of funding to enforce policies
that protect our communities and make
them more resilient,” said Serrano.
Hazel Tanchuling of Rice Watch and
Action Network said that the ABI
agriculture group urges the government
to increase the budget for the sector by
P830 million. “According to an Asian
Development Bank study, the poverty
incidence in rural areas, at more than
half of the rural population, is still
highest. Add to that, our rural
population is most vulnerable to climate
change. As such, our alternative budget
proposals are geared toward
climate-proofing farms by providing more
extension work to farmers,” explained
Tanchuling.
Social Watch and UNMC earlier launched
the “I Vote for MDG” campaign, which
encourages voters to support only
candidates with the MDGs as their
platform of government.
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