NILINAW ni Caloocan City 2nd District Representative Edgar “Egay” Erice na ang kanyang pagbatikos sa ₱500-million alokasyon para sa Jesse M. Robredo Coliseum ay hindi pag-atake laban kay Naga City Mayor Leni Robredo, o sa nakasaad na layunin ng proyekto.
“Senator Kiko Pangilinan misses the point. Whether the facility is called a stadium, a coliseum, or an evacuation center is not the central issue. The issue is the legality, constitutionality, transparency, and equitability of a funding mechanism that allows tens of billions of pesos to be distributed after Congress has already enacted the budget,” ani Erice.
Aniya, pormal na ibinigay ng Pangulo ang ₱500-million Special Allotment Release Order para sa retrofitting at modernization ng coliseum noong Pebrero 2026. Inilarawan ng sariling resolusyon ng Naga City ang proyekto bilang isang sports facility na magsisilbi ring evacuation center.
“I am not saying that Naga has no need for an evacuation center. Ang tanong ko ay mas simple: Bakit Naga? Why ₱500 million? What objective ranking placed this project ahead of the needs of poorer municipalities facing more severe flooding, disaster exposure, inadequate hospitals, unsafe schools, and a lack of potable water?” tanong ni Erice.
“Naga is an independent component city with a substantial local revenue base. Across the country, there are fourth- and fifth-class municipalities that cannot finance even basic evacuation facilities, health stations, farm-to-market roads, or water systems. What transparent, measurable, and publicly reviewable standard justified prioritizing Naga over these poorer and more vulnerable LGUs?”
Binigyang-diin ni Erice na hindi niya kailangang bumisita sa Naga para alamin kung may problema sa istruktura ang coliseum dahil ang kontrobersya ay may kinalaman sa proseso ng pambansang badyet, hindi lamang ang pisikal na kondisyon ng isang istraktura.
“Hindi ko kailangang pumunta sa Naga upang malaman kung may sira ang coliseum. The relevant documents already state the proposed project and its cost. What remains undisclosed is the comparative evaluation: What was Naga’s score? Who were the other applicants? Which poorer LGUs were denied or deferred? What were their scores? Who recommended the ₱500-million amount, and on what economic, fiscal, and disaster-risk basis?”
Halos ₱140 bilyon sa tatlong budget cycles.
Ang sukat ng isyu ay hindi maaaring bale-walain bilang isang maliit na lokal na alokasyon. Ang LGSF ay umabot sa humigit-kumulang ₱23 bilyon noong 2025 at ₱57.87 bilyon noong 2026, habang ang administrasyon ay nagmumungkahi ng isa pang ₱58.53 bilyon para sa 2027.
“This is no longer a small contingency fund. We are discussing a massive pool of public money with enormous potential to influence local political alliances,” sabi ni Erice.
Para aniya sa 2026 lamang, ₱37.492 bilyon ang inilaan para sa Tulong Pinansyal sa bahagi ng LGUs. Ito ay higit sa pitong beses ang ₱5 bilyon na orihinal na iminungkahi sa National Expenditure Program at mas mataas kaysa sa magkahiwalay na bersyon na una nang inaprubahan ng Kamara at Senado.
“If the final amount grew from ₱5 billion in the NEP to ₱37.49 billion in the enacted budget, Congress and the Executive owe the public a complete explanation: Which agency programs were reduced to finance this increase, and why were the individual beneficiary LGUs and projects not subjected to the same detailed congressional scrutiny?” (Richard Mesa)