Militants hit lavish spending for ASEAN

Militant groups yesterday criticized the huge fund outlay of the provincial government for the ASEAN summit which will be held here this December.

Kilusang Mambubukid ng Pilipinas spokesman Nick Abasolo said that the expenditures allocated by the provincial government should have been spent for the needs of the Cebuanos and not for the Cebu International Convention Center.

Abasolo said that CICC will be of no more use after the ASEAN Summit, tagging the government's expenditures as just a waste of money from the people's pockets.

"Mao ba kini ang mga hinanaling panginahanglan sa mga tawo? Unsay mahitabo sa CICC inig human sa Summit? Unsay capacity sa government aron pag-maintain ana nga edipisyo? Masayang lang ang kwarta sa gobyerno niini," Abasaolo said at a press conference yesterday.

He added that during the gathering of leaders, they will also hold a rally to express their sentiments to the leaders. He said that they have not yet planned for the venue of the rally though but will gather other groups who will join them.

Last Thursday, student leaders in Cebu organized the Street University, an alliance of youth groups, which questioned the government's huge allocation for the coming ASEAN Summit.

The alliance leader, Karlo Mongaya, also the chairman of the University of the Philippines Cebu College Student Council, said the alliance will serve as the youth's campaign center or venue for exposing their concerns on regional issues and leaders.

Mongaya said the Street University is not against the holding of the ASEAN Summit here but would like to express its sentiments over the government's expenses for such an event.

Cebu has been spending about P650 million for the Cebu International Convention Center while the education sector needs 74,115 classrooms, said Mongaya.

The overall budget for the ASEAN, which is P 2.5 billion, could already enroll 166,667 college students for the second semester, he added.

Doyle Belluga, vice chairman for the Visayas of the Katipunan ng mga Sangguniang Mag-aaral sa UP, also said the expensive beautification projects for the summit are "nothing but a waste of peoples' money."

He said that prioritizing a four-day event over basic social services, education and health only showed the true color of the Arroyo administration.

Money for the summit is released easier than for social services or infrastructures like roads, Belluga said, even the budget for education and health has remained meager. - Jasmin R. Uy