Climate Change body’s travel budget trimmed

The government has proposed a substantial cut in the travel funds of the Climate Change Commission (CCC) next year amid President Duterte’s restrictions on foreign trips.

Under its proposed R98-million budget, the commission’s travel funds have been pegged at R2.78 million for 2019, lower than the R18.7 million set this year.

The total budget of the commission will be divided among the maintenance and other operating expenses (R57.9 million), personnel services (R34.4 million), and capital outlay (R6.4 million).

President Duterte recently announced he would only send one representative from the CCC to attend future international conferences on climate change.

Duterte lamented that frequent travels for climate change events by some officials have done nothing good for the country except drain public resources.

The CCC, attached to the Office of the President, is the government sole policymaking body to monitor and evaluate programs and actions plans related to climate change.

“We cannot be going to conventions every now and (then). I would insist on one representative from the Climate Change Commission, and I will not allow everybody to go out,” Duterte said during the Asia Pacific Healthy Islands Conference in Davao City last July 25.

“You need only one mouth. We are not as rich as France, Great Britain where you can send a delegation. We can only afford to send one and maybe if it is to my liking, I might join her in the trip so that makes two of us, no more,” he added.

So far, Duterte said he has fired three Cabinet members and 16 undersecretaries for excessive foreign travels.

He said it pained him to dismiss these officials since most of them were his friends.