The CITIZEN'S DEBT AUDIT COMMISSION

National crisis is not all about unrest & chaos; it also presents opportunities & alternatives. In a situation in which government institutions are collapsing and failing to be accountable to public interest, it is high time for ordinary citizens to reclaim their power and become active players in the realm of governance. The Citizen’s Debt Audit Commission was an offshoot of a nation in crisis. Its birth was impelled by the tale of greed and corruption told by the ZTE-NBN star witness Jun Lozada, and as a concrete response to a petition initiated by the People Against Illegitimate Debt (PAID!) movement. The Commission has for its members thirty (30) individuals of proven probity, credibility and expertise, and coming from different sectors of society. This include former Vice President Teofisto Guingona, former Senator Wigberto Tanada, Bishop Efraim Tendero, Dr. Sixto K. Roxas, Fr. Ben Moraleda (CSsR), Sr. Cres Lucero (SFIC), former Representative Mayong Aguja, UP Prof. Randy David, Former FDC president Ana Maria R. Nemenzo, FDC vice president Lidy Nacpil, Dr. Sylvia Estrada-Claudio, Atty. Antonio Oposa, Dr. Grace Jamon, Atty. Golda Benjamin, Dr. Aurora Parong, Dr. Emmanuel Luna, Economics Prof. Joseph Lim, Atty. Ibarra Gutierrez, Atty. Mari Paz Luna-Severino, Prof. Eduardo Tadem, Atty. Teddy Pascua, Mr. Eribert Padilla, Ms. Vaupet Pena representing the youth sector, Mr. Vic Fabe representing the farmers and fisherfolk, Teacher Benjo Basas, and representatives from the labor and urban poor sectors. This is a very significant development amid the ballooning debt our government is continuously incurring. To date, the National Government has amassed a debt of P3.78 trillion or $81.6 billion. Each Filipino soul from the newly born baby to a dying mortal is indebted by as much as P43,487, paying P7,012 annually to service the debt. Every minute, our government, using our hard-earned money is paying a mind-boggling P1.1 million just to service the (illegitimate) debt—debts that only went to corruption. The NBN-ZTE scandal is only tip of the iceberg. Lozada had cited some infra projects that to his knowledge were also clothed with anomalies--ZTE-type debts that have been contracted by the government that evades public scrutiny and were paid with dwindling public funds at the expense for more essential and much-needed social services like health, education, employment, etc. The creation of CDAC is not meant to duplicate what other government institutions are doing particularly Congress. PAID! members said, “ the citizen commission would complement the highly awaited Congressional auditing of public debt by raising questions beyond the limits of the parliamentary initiatives, and by putting forward recommendations sourced from the people’s standpoint on the problem.” Anomalous loan transactions were said to be concrete manifestations that government audit is infirmed and deficient, hence, the imperative necessity to create an independent citizen’s audit. In essence, CDAC serves as people's watchdog in a crucial situation where government no longer enjoys the utmost trust and confidence of its people; where government instruments are degenerating, and continuously fall short of its mandate to remain responsive and accountable to public interest. Most importantly, CDAC is not about disenabling the government nor rendering it inutile, but about what ordinary citizens could do in a situation where the very government that is supposed to fulfill its constitutional mandate of transparency and accountability no longer enjoys popular trust.