Wagging the dog
Our legislators had two surprises for the Filipino people after the Christmas holidays. The first is the passage of the SSS pension bill which raised hopes and expectations; the second, the removal of the one billion peso item for family planning from the budget of the Department of Health, which has been roundly condemned. In the fallout, both have brought aggravation and heightened our frustration with our lawmakers.
I am finding it difficult to ascribe good faith in these legislative actuations. Let me tell you why.
Nobody has ever accused our legislators of working too hard. But despite their gross absenteeism in the weeks before and after the Christmas holidays, in denial about the urgency of the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law, the House of Representatives managed to pass a bill granting a P2,000 increase in the monthly pension of retired SSS members.
This populist move was promptly approved by the Senate, but apparently without much discussion or debate, because it did not provide how or where the funds would be accessed. Only one senator, Juan Ponce Enrile, dissented on the ground that it would affect the long-term viability of the SSS. It is true that we pensioners deserve more than the monthly pittance that we get from the SSS, but it was explained that such a large increase for two million senior citizens would render the SSS bankrupt and thus deny its broader membership of over 30 million, the salary, housing, hospital, calamity and other low-interest loans the SSS provides, not to mention their future pensions.
Was it the Christmas season that made our legislators so careless in their generosity, mindless of the consequences of their munificence? Methinks it was more a forward-looking move on their part — with their eyes fixed firmly on the May elections.
The warnings did not bother the bill’s main author, Makabayan party list Representative Neri Colmenares. He is, after all, running for senator but is little known outside leftist circles. So, as the song goes, “No day but today.” The numbers did not matter; they were mere details. He knew his fellow lawmakers would not be able to resist such a vote-getting measure, and the public would lap it up. The bill could get vetoed by Malacañang, but think of the nationwide projection he would get!
The presidential veto is Colmenares’ ticket to ride. This is a case of the tail wagging the dog.
I cannot imagine that the rest of the legislators, most of whom are the President’s political allies, were not aware that the bill they sent to Malacañang for signing was problematic. Despite being given the math, which is simple enough for ordinary people like myself to understand, they joined the bandwagon raising the expectations of an under-served public. The bill passed quickly, overwhelmingly. When the President vetoed it, the lawmakers whined, but never mind, they’ve earned their pogi points. It is now the President’s problem to deal with the fallout.
The economists, financial experts and actuarians have since weighed in agreeing with the President and the SSS regarding the dire consequences of adopting such mindless legislation. But is anybody listening? But the lawmakers are merrily skipping towards re-election on the second Monday in May.
Meanwhile, RH advocates who already won the debate in 2013 with the passage of the Reproductive Health Bill, were blindsided by the bi-cameral committee that worked on the final budget when it was revealed that on the motion of Senator Loren Legarda, reportedly upon the instruction of Senator Tito Sotto, the Department of Health’s two billion peso budget for family planning was removed, excised, eliminated, obliterated. This under-handed move apparently blindsided the rest of the Senate as well.
So family planning is back in square one. Despite the RH law and overwhelming data on the positive impact of family planning methods on women’s reproductive health and need to limit the burgeoning population, the budget does not include a single centavo for safe contraceptives. This has been described as irresponsible, despicable, and traitorous even. But it will help Senator Sotto, the self-proclaimed RH slayer, maintain his top position in the surveys with the support of the Catholic bishops in his bid for still another undistinguished term in the Senate.
And now, amid a long list of important legislation it should be working on in the three weeks before it goes into the long campaign break, the Senate — on the motion of Senator Enrile (who is charged with plunder and is out on bail) and seconded by Senator Grace Poe (a presidential candidate) — is poised to re-open its probe into the Mamasapano incident. Is there no limit to their self-centered political agendas? It seems there nothing more we can expect from this Congress at this time that is not in aid of election or, in the case of Enrile, revenge.
I wonder what our legislators think we elected them for. Where does public welfare really figure in their legislative agendas? Who do they wag their tails for?
