No irregularities in gov’t spending

THERE IS  nothing irregular with the government spending, Malacañang said Thursday.

Echoing President Rodrigo Duterte’s recent statement, acting Presidential Spokesperson and Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said public funds are being utilized properly.

“What is important, the Chief Executive underscored, is there are no irregularities in government spending,” Andanar said in a press statement.

Andanar made the remarks in response to presidential aspirant Senator Panfilo Lacson’s statement that it is “embarrassing” for a country’s leader to let his successor deal with the trillions of pesos in debt.

On Wednesday, Lacson said it would be a shame to know that the next administration would carry the burden of paying the country’s debt rather than inherit a “better Philippines”.

Andanar shrugged off Lacson’s statement as merely “part of election campaign rhetoric”.

“Senator Panfilo Lacson’s remarks on the Philippines’ outstanding debt is part of election campaign rhetoric,” he said.

Andanar added that Duterte had already explained why the country has to borrow money.

“Be that as it may, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has already addressed this issue saying that there is a need for government borrowing to finance the administration’s programs and projects,” he said.

The country’s outstanding debt grew to PHP12.09 trillion, as of end-February, according to the data released by the Bureau of Treasury (BTr).

The BTr said the country’s debt pile as of end-February was 0.5 percent or PHP63.83 billion higher than the PHP12.029 billion registered as of end-January.

The surge in the Philippines’ debt, the BTr said, was due to “currency fluctuations and net financing from both local and external sources.”

Around 69.6 percent or PHP8.41 trillion of the country’s PHP12.09-trillion debt were domestic borrowings, while the remaining 30.4 percent of PHP3.68 trillion were sourced externally.

On March 31, Duterte said it is “not bad to borrow,” as long as the money is not used for corrupt activities. (Ruth Abbey Gita-Carlos)