Senator Edgardo Angara called for an increased government spending particularly in infrastructure and job generation programs.
Angara, who is also the Vice Chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, urged the Aquino administration to reevaluate its fiscal policies and divert government savings into projects that could spur economic growth.
"Why are we hoarding so much public money? Money unspent is money useless – a useless asset when there is so much urgent necessary infrastructure and public works crying out for prosecution and implementation," he said in a statement on Tuesday.
The senator revealed that the Department of Public Works and Highways has only spent P16 billion out of its P90 billion budget for infrastructure in a period of eight months.
“What's happening to the P74 billion? We ought to spend it to create badly needed infrastructure in the country,” Angara said.
Moreover, according to the Global Competitiveness Report for 2010-2011, the Philippines, ranking 105th among 142 countries in the world, declined in terms of infrastructure.
Angara further said that the country's gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the second quarter is at only 3.4 percent compared to last year's 8.9 percent.
He underscored the importance of increased government spending on social and infrastructure programs to reach the ideal 7 percent to 8 percent real GDP growth, especially in light of declining exports and remittances from the United States and Europe.
