Duterte's first budget

The Budget department has submitted to Congress its proposed national budget for 2017. This is the first budget proposal under the Duterte government, which came to power without any coherent economic platform (apart from references to improving Philippine agriculture).

As far as agrarian reform is concerned, this has quietly disappeared based on the government's 10-point economic agenda released less than a month ago.

What's in store for Filipinos out of all the blood-and-sweat taxes the government takes from them? 

• A lot of Police Power. The PNP budget planned for next year is P110.4 billion. This figure is 24.6% higher than last year's budget, as the administration proudly announced. This acceleration is second only to the 32% planned budget growth intended for the DENR which is only getting P29.4 billion anyway.

• Militarization. The Armed Forces of the Philippines still corners a significant portion of the budget at P130.6 billion. The budget for the AFP is still higher than areas such as agriculture and agrarian reform (P120.5 billion) and the DSWD (P129.9 billion less the P78.7 billion expense for the conditional cash transfer or the "Pantawid" of the previous administration).

• Token funding for relevant areas. While the AFP will get to keep its militarization perks, areas such as science and housing will get a measly P20.8 billion and P12.6 billion respectively.

• Meanwhile, according to the Freedom from Debt Coalition, due to a Marcos-era-derived law, the Philippines for 30 years has been spending 27.21% of its national budget automatically to fraudulent and useless debts -- or rather, interests to these debts. Scheduled debt servicing for foreign liabilities amounted to P214.5 billion in 2016, a figure higher than the combined proposed budgets for health and calamity funding next year.

Summary:

Infrastructure  P860.7 billion
Education  P699.95 billion
Health   P151.5 billion
 PhilHealth P50.2 b
 RH Law  P4.3 b
AFP   P130.6 billion
DSWD   P129.9 billion
 CCT P78.7 b
 rice allowance P23.4 b
Agri/AR   P120.5 billion
PNP   P110.4 billion
NDRRMF  P37.3 billion
DENR   P29.4 billion
DOST   P20.8 billion
DOLE   P13.5 billion
NHA   P12.6 billion
DoT   P7.3 billion
Energy   P5.6 billion

Nothing is fundamentally different with these numbers. They basically affirm status-quo neoliberal economic policies -- the same policies that during the Arroyo and Aquino administrations (total of 15 years) have resulted in self-rated poverty hovering at the 50% territory.

Data sources:

http://www.dbm.gov.ph/?p=16394
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/570703/money/economy/duterte-s-economic-team-reveals-10-point-socioeconomic-agenda