The best and the worst of 2016 is history, and 2017 is bringing hope for better times ahead.
The Chinese New Year Day will be on Jan. 28. The zodiac sign of 2017 is the chicken or the rooster.
According to the Chinese horoscope calendar, 2017 is the Female Fire Chicken year. Red is connected to Fire. Therefore, 2017 is also called the year of the Red Chicken or Red Fire Chicken.
Before setting out predictions for 2017, let’s accept the reality that among all the other shockwaves and consequences that the election of Rodrigo Roa Duterte has brought, making predictions and crystal ball-gazing has even become more of an exercise in futility.
Digong has shown a propensity to change his mind once too often, or in some cases, to deny previously-stated policy positions (see his denial of statements made, duly taped or broadcasted), or for the public to learn to use “creative imagination” to understand his pronouncements.
There seems to be no argument that more that, Digong has created the most media buzz as much as media headaches — a migraine on many days — because of his controversial statements.
His spokesmen and allies have dismissed many of these statements, especially those related to his anti-crime campaign as just “hyperboles typical of the President”.
The good news is that President Duterte accepted the chairmanship of the ASEAN Summit in 2017 which will coincide with the 50th anniversary of the regional organization.
“The Philippines is ready and willing to see and guide the Association, but crucial to the realization of our goals are cooperation and support from all the ASEAN member states and our dialogue partners,” Duterte said.
The theme for the ASEAN Summit is akin to Duterte’s campaign motto, Partnering for Change, Engaging the World.
On the national front, taxpayers should watch how the approved P3.35 trillion budget will be spent in line with the President’s 10-Point Socio-economic Agenda. The budget is 11.6 percent higher than the 2016 budget. It represents 21 percent of the projected gross domestic product next year.Agriculture, education, as well as peace and order are among the budget priorities of the Duterte administration.
P1.42 trillion, around 40 percent of the budget, has been allocated for social services; Education, including its attached agencies, will receive P546.62 billion — the biggest allocation for a Department. The budget will be used to finance the “construction of classrooms, hiring of teachers, and procurement of instructional material”; the capital outlay of all state colleges and universities is P50 million. This puts at P63.62 billion the total allocations for SUCs.
Public Works & Highways and Health have the 2nd and 3rd biggest allocations in the 2017 budget: DPWH gets P443.76 billion, “given its indispensable role in poverty- reduction, raising productivity, and in spreading the benefits of economic growth;”DOH gets P155.15 billion, including a P3-billion increase in the Philhealth budget “to ensure that all Filipinos will be covered by the universal healthcare program.”
P155 billion has also been allocated for “the hiring of doctors, midwives and nurses to service the needs of our poorest communities in the country; building more hospitals; and procuring medicines.
The other agencies with the biggest allocations are Interior & Local Government with P147.58 billion; National Defense with P135.04 billion; and Social Welfare & Development with P128.31 billion.
Sen. Loren Legarda said P78.2 billion has been allocated to the Conditional Cash Transfer program which targets 4.4 million eligible beneficiaries this year.
The Philippine National Police will get P111.26 billion to allow it to hire more personnel and to procure firearms and equipment in the war on drugs and criminality.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines has been allocated P130.742 billion for its modernization program. P25 billion of this will go to improving the country’s capabilities to counter terrorism.
Happy new year to all.
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Author’s email: whelmayap@yahoo.com
