On Senate expenditure

At Issue: An official request by a senator that OPA reviews how his colleagues spend taxpayers money.

Our View: It’s a good exercise in building accountability in the way public officials spend our taxes.

Allegations of senators spending taxpayers’ hard earned contributions on such things as a $4000 down payment on a car, expensive floral arrangements, cable television, hearty meals at our expense, among others, have raised eyebrows throughout these isles.

The lavish and unbridled spending of taxpayers hard earned contributions has the ordinary people quizzing if our astute senators have any inkling of the “economic bad times” that is a daily ordeal for a lot of families.
While some of these expenditures may be justified, it is really very unbecoming of those who spend it wildly ignoring the call for austerity amidst serious downturn in the local economy.

In other words, it seems apparent that upper chamber policymakers think they are immune from accountability in the expenditure of taxpayers money. This obvious “picnic” attitude needs immediate attitudinal change! Taxpayers too know how to spend their own contributions to meet basic family needs over expensive floral arrangements and other alleged wasteful spending. They have diligently juggled family budgets to meet basic needs. Can senators follow suit?

Too, an ocular review of all public funds must be undertaken by OPA even without an official request by bureaucrats and politicians. While OPA may be swamped with loads of work, keeping the politicians out of what needs serious review, would discourage the notion of employing audits as a political weapon. After all, the principle remains the same–instituting accountability in the final disposition of taxpayers hard earned money.

Interesting how some violators of the local treasury have been allowed to walk out of their mess Scott Free while others must pay through the nose. Fairness and justice is important in these cases and if one is required to repay his unbridled expenditure of public funds, then all must be required to repay such excesses. We look forward to the requested audit of Senate members. They are not immune from the same ocular review of how they have spent our taxes. And we thank Senator Ramon S. Guerrero for his courage to keeping his colleagues on their toes. Si Yuus Maase`!