Former Finance Undersecretary Cielo Magno gave a fiery critique of the government's budget decisions, particularly regarding PhilHealth and the reversion of P89.9 billion in unspent funds to the national treasury.

Magno, an economics professor at the University of the Philippines, said Department of Finance Secretary Ralph Recto is spinning a new press release about why PhilHealth was ordered to return the unused health funds supposedly to create jobs and pump up the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

An initial P30 billion out of the P89.9 billion has already been returned to the Bureau of Treasury

But Magno isn’t buying it.

“Alam nyo po wag na tayo maglokohan. Alam nyo yang tunay na dahilan kung baket kailangan ng pera ng gobyerno (Don’t fool around. You know the real reason the government needs money),” Cielo said in a recent TikTok post.

Cielo said that in last year’s bicameral meeting that decided the 2024 budget, the House of Representatives suddenly ballooned by a whopping P12.5 billion from P16.17 billion proposed budget to P28.693.

She turned the spotlight on Congresswoman Yeda, chair of the House Committee on Accounts and Speaker Martin Romualdez’s wife, who holds the House of Representatives’ funds.

Meanwhile, she added, the Senate also got a budget boost, with an increase of P2.175 billion pesos from the proposed budget of P10.83 billion to P13.008 billion.

She said the Department of Public Works and Highways'sactual budget increased by 175.685 billion from P821.107 billion to P996.792.

Magno fired back, questioning why the funds for infrastructure and healthcare workers’ compensation are running dry while the budgets for flood control and pork barrel projects are swelling.

“Baket natin kailangan ng budget? Eh kse pinalaki nyo ng pinalaki ang budget for flood control, for your pork barrel, for the House of Representatives? So, ngaun wala kayongpangpondo para sa mga importanteng infrastructure projects; wala kayong pangpondo para sa compensation ng ating mga healthcare workers, tapos sasabihin nyopara ito sa GDP at paglikha ng trabaho?”

Fiscal mismanagement

Magno didn’t hold back, directly calling out Recto and Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman for fiscal mismanagement.

“’Wag po tayong maglokohan, Secretary Recto. Alam nyoang dahilan baket kailangan ng pera ang gobyerno. Ang tawag po dyan fiscal mismanagement. Responsibilidadmo yan bilang Secretary of Finance, si Secretary Minah I DBM. Hindi dapat hinahayaang magkaganyan peropinalaki ng pinalaki yung budget wala naman palangpondo (Don’t fool us! You know the real reason the government needs cash. That is called fiscal mismanagement that is supposed to be your responsibility and DBM Secretary Mina Pangandaman. It should not be allowed to happen, the budget has been tremendously increased, but there are no funds),” she said.

She added: Ngayon kinukuha nyo yung Philhealth na sanatutustos sa pangngailangan ng taong bayan (Now you take the PhilHealth funds that should provide for the health needs of the people).”

Magno, who resigned effective September 16, 2023,reportedly due to disagreements over rice price ceilings and mining tax reforms, oversaw the DOF’s Fiscal Policy and Monitoring Group and chaired the Fiscal Incentives Review Board’s Technical Committee.

Malacañang reportedly requested her resignation, possibly prompted by a Facebook post referencing the law of supply and demand, which some interpreted as criticism of the rice price ceiling. (AAA)