Lawmaker hits proposed budget cuts for agencies on history, cultural preservation
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 24) - Gabriela Party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas on Wednesday slammed the proposed budget cuts for four key agencies tasked with preserving history and culture, saying this will worsen alleged historical revisionism under the Marcos administration.
The 2023 National Expenditure Program (NEP) showed a proposed reduction in the budget of the following agencies:
- National Commission for Culture and Arts (NCCA)
- National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP)
- National Archives of the Philippines (NAP)
- National Library of the Philippines (NLP)
NCCA faces an 83.9% budget cut — the biggest among the four — based on a comparison from its 2022 budget.
From ₱156.2 million, the agency is given just ₱25.1 million in the NEP.
The proposed budget for NHCP is also down by 27.2%, for NAP by 25.2%, and for NLP 22.6%.
Gabriela Party-list compares figures listed in the NEP and in the 2022 General Appropriations Act.
According to Brosas, the reductions show that the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. "[does] not care about history."
"The Philippines has entered the age of historical disinformation and distortion, and these budget cuts on key agencies on history and culture will make Filipinos even more vulnerable to historical revisionism," she said.
The lawmaker added that the smaller funding for NHCP was proposed despite the agency's request for augmented funds to fast-track the restoration of historical and cultural properties affected by last month's magnitude 7 earthquake in Northern Luzon.
Brosas said she will question these proposals during the budget deliberations, along with the "meager" proposed funding for the Philippine General Hospital and social welfare services.
"We will continue to fight for the truth and rights of the Filipino people and reject all moves to completely erase the atrocities under the Marcos regime," she said.
