MANILA—The national center of government employees COURAGE today registered their opposition to the Aquino administration’s recent proposals for austerity measures, a centralized procurement system and a centralized payroll system for state workers. In a statement, COURAGE National President Ferdinand R. Gaite slammed the administration’s proposed austerity measures, which involved cutting-back on the Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) of government agencies, claiming these would hit hard not only state employees but public service as well.
“If the government is sincere in its’ desire to cut back on expenses in order to fund social services, it should instead decrease the amount allocated for foreign debt servicing which amounts to P823 billion for 2011, compared to the projected savings from the austerity measures which by the government’s own estimate will amount to P14 billion. We fear that Aquino’s cost-cutting measures will gradually lead to conditions similar to the harsh austerity measures implemented in Greece, the United Kingdom and France,” Gaite said, referring to George Papandreou’s plan to reduce Greece’s budget deficit by cutting government spending which eventually bred higher taxes and steep cuts on social services. The worsening living conditions in Greece led to massive protests and demonstrations from citizens denouncing the government’s anti-people policies.
“Past administrations also institutionalized austerity measures which only resulted to difficult working conditions, pay cuts and benefits withheld for employees. In the end services were also affected because of lesser hours, scant resources and more inaccessibility to the public”.
The labor leader also criticized the proposed implementation of a centralized procurement system for government agencies as part of cost-cutting measures.
“The centralized procurement system has already failed miserably under the Ramos administration: substandard office equipment and machinery for government agencies were acquired and discarded because of poor quality. In the end, it was a waste of government resources and a trigger for protests among employees who had to use the said equipment.Mga ballpen na hindi sumusulat, mga lapis na walang lead at mga papel na nadudurog—we have encountered all of this before,” said Gaite.
In related news, Gaite also criticized Budget Secretary Florencio Abad’s statement that “one solution to the GSIS problem is a centralized payroll system that the Aquino government plans to adopt next year”, referring to the failure of 300+ government agencies to properly remit employees’ contributions to the GSIS. Abad proposed a system wherein salaries of state workers will no longer go through agencies, but will be deposited by the national treasury directly to government banks after deducting GSIS premium contributions and the withholding tax.
“This proposal is indicative of how this administration has become out of touch with reality. If implemented, this will make it more difficult for overworked and underpaid government employees, especially those in far-flung areas to get their salaries. What about employees in remote areas where there are no banks, much less bank accounts? Also, we fear that a centralized payroll system could very well promote a centralized and systematized corruption, since government funds for personnel services are pooled into a single pay master. It is insulting that instead of prosecuting corrupt government officials responsible for the non-remittance of our GSIS contributions, Aquino and his economic managers opt to placate us with another complicated scheme that breeds even more problems. We challenge Aquino to intervene regarding the problems confronting the GSIS and to prove his sincerity in going after corrupt officials within the bureaucracy,” Gaite concluded. ###