exploring

I first posted this in May 2022. I thought of sharing it again now, in light of the ongoing controversies surrounding the national budget. I remember how strict PNoy was when it came to government spending — he was careful with every peso, leaving no issue unchecked, because as public servants, we were entrusted to be faithful stewards of the people’s money. ———————- SA ILALIM NI PNOY Under PNoy, there were only two kinds of Cabinet meetings that would practically be held the whole day. One was the fiscal budget meeting where PNoy would go thru the proposed budget for the next year w/ a calculator beside him & asked the logic of the expenditures. Ang taya na sasagot ay yung Dept Secretary at Budget Secretary (DBM). Kung hindi masagot ng Cabsec, si Budget Secretary ang sasagot. Kung hindi pa rin masagot, submit a written explanation. Walang item sa proposed budget ang papasa na hindi dumaan sa karayom ni PNoy. Ganyan sya kahigpit sa kaban ng bayan. The second set of meetings is yung NEDA Board. Lahat ng govt projects over a certain amount kailangan dumaan sa NEDA Board. Si PNoy nasa tabi nya uli ang calculator. Bago umakyat sa NEDA Board, na repaso na ng NEDA yung mga projects & tabled for NEDA Board approval. Sa meeting, the Cabsec proponent will defend the Project & almost always may tanong si PNoy. Kung hindi masagot ang logic ng laki ng proyekto or any questions he asked, submit a written explanation. Why do i recall these two kinds of meetings? First, dahil ang humarap kay PNoy ay parang thesis defense at ang proponent ay dapat “Laging Handa”. If one came unprepared, gisang gisa ang Cabsec at ang staff niya & no matter how one prepared, you’d still get questions from left field. 2nd, nakaupo kami ng buong araw & hindi comportable ang silya. Masakit sa likod. Magandang tingnan ang Aguinaldo Room pero panahon pa yata ng Kano ang mga silya at imagine marami sa amin ay hindi na bata. Kaya maraming beses na patawang minumungkahi na baka pwedeng gumamit na lang ng ergonomic chairs. But kidding aside, mahalaga ang papel ng NEDA Board at ng budget meetings. PNoy always took to heart that in meetings w/c involved spending people’s money, he came prepared, read all the proposals, went thru each item line by line & made notes to ask. PNoy was exacting when required & demanded the same standard from his people. In the end, we came out w/ tired backs but nonetheless wiser. 💪