Hand in Hand Towards Amelioration

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The role of PDAF in the local government is very helpful. It can be split into two ways: 1) it brings projects to the locality that can lessen the local government’s expenditures that are from the national government, and 2) it can add to the negative-budget project proposals or those projects with insufficient budget which in turn will not need anymore budget appropriations from the national government. The local government can function well with PDAF as it can show what local autonomy really means – the gradual decentralization of projects and activities, and lessening the dependence of LGUs on Manila.

PDAF without LGU is no different from giving the keys of a city to a monkey. In other terms, it’s like an opportunity in the form of PDAF budget wasted. What would be its purpose? Will it benefit the people? Can it really give priority? And the main question is, where will the money go? The keys will only be lost in a vast area where they could have opened opportunities in the openings of buildings and firms. In other words, the assistance will just be put into waste. It would definitely not benefit the people for there is no direction where the money will go. If the budget will end up in the wrong hands, the priorities being accounted will only be of the beholders’. There are NGOs also benefiting in this PDAF because they are saying that they too function just like the government. So just like in the case of Janet Lim-Napoles, the national government has the task also of examining whether their assistance would really reach the hands of the specified benefactors. I really don’t want to go further with this PDAF scam because the legislators here are the ones involved, I just want to pay particular attention to the fact that PDAF should not be abolished for its real purpose is to relay development in every district area in the country. There might be NGOs that can use PDAF but by making things straight, can these organizations function well for the administrative divisions of our country? They are autonomous but they do not possess what LGUs have and that is local autonomy. LGUs have the minds and hearts of their constituents and they enforce the law. NGOs actually do these too but they are not the government, they are only helping in infra-projects. LGUs have more credibility than NGOs over PDAF, more credibility especially over fake NGOs. Monkeys won’t be able to handle the responsibilities of wise men so if ever they are able to have a touch on a certain budget, money will obviously be put into waste where it could have helped a huge population of people.

Therefore, a principle of coexistence exists betweern these two, LGU and PDAF. An absence of one aspect would be as useless as brushing one’s teeth without toothpaste. So it is important for the local government unit to be responsible and intellectual in using the said priority development assistance fund so that everybody’s needs would be satisfied.

Finally, with these two existing side-by-side, there can be a greater and more sufficient government that can live out its purpose, to be of the people, by the people and for the people.

References:

http://www.inquirer.net/napoles/what-is-pdaf

http://www.dilg.gov.ph/PDF_File/programsnprojects/reports/DILG-Reports-201128-54757bff59.pdf

THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES BOOK III LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS (pdf)

http://www.dilg.gov.ph/PDF_File/resources/DILG-Resources-201162-99c00c33f8.pdf