No budget, yes budget  

A story posted February 3 on Philstar.com leapt out at me. "Limited budget, lack of manpower hamper DENR's work," the title of the story said emphatically. Datelined Cagayan de Oro, the story substantially quoted the DENR secretary, Maria Antonia Yulo Loyzaga, who sounded almost begging to be believed. I wish I could.

 "The way we are set up, the fiscal space is very tight," she said at a forum in that city. "The DENR is in charge of 15 million hectares of classified forest lands. We are also in charge of so many thousands of hectares of coastal areas. We cannot, at the level of budget at this point, do an adequate job of protecting all of our ecosystems," she said.

Not having been at the forum nor having watched any TV coverage of the event, if any, I can only rely on the printed word from which to draw my impressions. And the mental picture the story gives me is that of a department secretary already admitting failure even before she can warm up to her job. Named to the post July, she is just into her seventh month!

I have always thought that new appointees normally regard their new jobs as an opportunity to do good, as a challenge to be of service. They are expected to be in high spirits, to exude nothing but confidence. And while it is not good for anyone to promise heaven and earth, aiming high is still far better than hearing a sob story at the starting line.

What is even more unsettling in this story is that Loyzaga appears to blame the future failure of her department solely on the lack of a proper budget, as if money by themselves can grow arms and legs to police and protect the ecosystem. Nowhere in her speech can be found a reference to dedicated men and women willing to do what it takes to do a good job.

To be fair, Loyzaga does envision multisectoral partnerships, both with other government agencies and with private entities, that may sidestep the budgetary constraints she laments about. But that is already beside the point because when people and organizations get together, chances are something good and productive will almost always happen.

What does not inspire confidence is the seeming resignation that left alone, the DENR is doomed to fail for lack of a budget, a budget that, she said, was slashed to just ?23 billion this year from ?25 billion last year. I am tempted to add that maybe the slash is due to a determination by Congress that the DENR is doing a poor job to deserve a bigger budget.

If it is any consolation to anyone, weighing success or failure on the scales of finances is common in government. It is the consistent alibi of most underperforming departments and agencies. It is always "no budget, no budget." And yet, when it comes to granting bonuses, it is always "yes budget, yes budget."

Bonuses are supposed to be rewards for a good job, incentives to do better. But I am pretty sure, despite having foreseen only gloom this early due to a limited budget, that the DENR will be among the first to set aside bonuses from that limited budget for its personnel whose boss already described "cannot do an adequate job" doing what it is supposed to do.