They'd be fooling us again on PhilHealth, education

We're dumb—all 119 million of us Filipinos. That's why the President, VP, Cabinet, senators, congressmen kick us around.

- JARIUS BONDOC

Example 1 is what they did with the 2025 national budget:

The President proposed P825-billion public works. Congress added P289 billion last Wednesday. Total: P1.114 trillion.

Most will go to flood controls. As usual, each lawmaker will pocket billions of pesos from fake river dredging. Plus 70-percent kickbacks from highway rock nettings and cat's eyes.

The extra money for public works came from education, science and technology, health and other basics.

Department of Education got P737 billion, P12 billion less than originally proposed. State colleges and universities got P122 billion, P30 billion less. Remainder: P859 billion.

Science and technology got only P29 billion, instead of the proposed P49 billion.

Those violate the Constitution. Article XIV, Section 5 that says, "The State shall assign highest budgetary priority to education."

Section 10 further prioritizes "research and development and S&T education, training and services."

We allow breaches of fundamental law. For a decade now our grade schoolers are dumbest in Math, Science and Reading Comprehension among 85 countries.

Our leaders don't care—and we accept it.

Example 2 is Congress' zero budget for PhilHealth:

The President allotted P74 billion: P53 billion from sin taxes on alcohol, tobacco, sugary goods and P21-billion subsidy.

Under the 2018 Universal Health Care Act (UHCA), sin taxes automatically must be given to PhilHealth. That's the "indirect" contribution of indigents and low-income earners. It's added to "direct" contributions from mid- and high-income earners.