While Filipinos Are Drowning, Government Is Busy Fighting Over Politics

The Philippines, Metro Manila and surrounding areas are dealing with flooding, worsening traffic, disrupted transportation and the economic consequences of extreme weather. Families are struggling to get home. Workers are losing valuable hours. Businesses are affected. Communities are dealing with damage that should no longer be considered simply a seasonal inconvenience.

Yet, while ordinary Filipinos are dealing with these realities, the national political agenda remains heavily focused on the impeachment proceedings involving Vice President Sara Duterte and the preparation of the FY 2027 National Budget.

Both issues are important.

But there is something increasingly frustrating for ordinary Filipinos:

Why does government appear more energetic when dealing with political controversies and budget battles than when dealing with the problems people experience every day?

What Is Even More Annoying? The Budget Priorities

Perhaps one of the most frustrating aspects of the budget process is watching government agencies with enormous budgets continue to receive substantial resources, while agencies and offices directly asking for additional funds to help vulnerable Filipinos can face intense scrutiny or limited increases. This creates a legitimate public perception problem. When an agency has a huge budget but the problems within its area of responsibility continue to worsen, Filipinos naturally ask:

Why does this agency continue to receive more resources?

At the same time, when a smaller agency or government office requests additional funding for programs directly benefiting communities, disaster victims, social services or other essential public needs, Congress may subject those requests to lengthy scrutiny. Scrutiny itself is not the problem.

The question is whether scrutiny is being applied consistently

If Congress is going to aggressively examine every peso requested by agencies serving the public, then the same or even greater level of scrutiny should be applied to agencies handling massive budgets.

The Bigger the Budget, the Greater the Accountability

A large government budget should never be treated as an automatic entitlement. The bigger the budget, the bigger the responsibility to demonstrate results. Congress should be asking every major government agency:

• What did you accomplish with last year's budget?

• What measurable improvements did Filipinos receive?

• How much of the budget was actually utilized?

• Which programs succeeded?

• Which programs failed?

• Why are you asking for more money if the same problems remain unresolved?

If an agency's performance is poor, simply increasing its budget should not automatically be the answer. More money does not automatically mean better government. Sometimes the problem is not insufficient funding. It may be poor planning, inefficient implementation, weak coordination, procurement problems, duplication of programs or inadequate oversight. That is where Congress should focus its attention.

Scrutinize the Billions, Not Just the Small Requests

There is nothing wrong with Congress scrutinizing government spending. In fact, it is one of Congress's most important responsibilities. But Filipinos deserve to see the same intensity of scrutiny applied to the country's largest expenditures. It is frustrating when the public sees lawmakers debating relatively small increases requested by agencies providing direct assistance to communities, while much larger appropriations elsewhere receive less public attention.

The Filipino taxpayer deserves consistency

If ₱125 million requires scrutiny, ₱4.5 billion should require even more.

If ₱10 billion is being questioned, ₱100 billion should not escape examination simply because it belongs to a powerful or politically influential agency. Budget scrutiny should follow the money not political influence.

And What About Corruption? This is where public frustration becomes even stronger. Filipinos repeatedly hear about allegations of irregularities, questionable transactions, procurement concerns, misuse of public funds and corruption involving government officials.

Yet, ordinary citizens sometimes feel that government processes are more aggressive toward legitimate budget requests than toward the people accused of abusing public resources. That perception is extremely damaging.

To be clear, an allegation is not proof of corruption, and every accused person deserves due process. But allegations involving misuse of public funds should receive serious, transparent and independent investigation.