This was the opinion of Indigenous Affairs Director Ignacio Demapan who was among those who attended the lengthy House and Senate deliberations on the fiscal year 2011 budget last week.
Demapan said he commends the senators for finally agreeing to the 16-hour cut and 13 unpaid holidays proposed by the administration and the House leadership.
This, he noted, finally ended the government shutdown that left 1,400 employees jobless for six days.
“It is an act of compassion that they finally agreed to pass the budget,” Demapan said.
But he said the senators and the House minority bloc should have agreed to the 16-hour cut earlier to prevent the shutdown.
Although the senators were trying not to hurt the government employees “that much,” Demapan said “the damage was already done.”
The government employees affected by the shutdown will not get back pay.
Demapan said he hopes that in the future, “this kind of predicament won’t occur anymore.”
He added, “The legislators should act for the interest of the public. As lawmakers, they should be the problem solver.”
