Sass Sassot Lectures VP Leni On Debt Trap Remark: "Instead Na Magbunganga Ka Dyan, Magtrabaho Ka!"

It is becoming evident that all the progress that our current administration is taking a step into is being opposed by the Liberal Party.

Take the plan of the Duterte administration to revive the Bicol Train express, which actually drew applause from the Bicolanos themselves. Out of all the happy people, our Vice President Leni Robredo herself decided to burst the bubble.

In an interview with UNTV, Robredo opened up about her fears of the reviving of the PNR using loans we got from China. At first she seemed ok with the plan, although she did try to insinuate that Noynoy was responsible for the progress.

"Naging horror story na sa atin ang PNR. Matagal na nating inaasam, matagal tayong sumisigaw na bigyan siya ng atensyon. Noong nakaraang administrasyon parang finally napakinggan tayo."

 And then she mentioned that she thinks it is not a good idea to loan from the Chinese government as we may be stuck in a debt trap like what happened to Sri Lanka.

"First of all, it's debt. Very huge, P171 billion. That's very huge. Our fear is we might get stuck in a debt trap like the one experienced by Sri Lanka."

Meanwhile, in response to what Robredo said, social media blogger and known supporter of President Rodrigo Duterte, Sass Rogando Sasot couldn't help but lecture the VP.

According to Sass, a little research could have brought Leni to an understanding why Sri Lanka is in a debt trap now. If she had known that, she wouldn't have been saying that to compare to tha Philippines.

Could you please stop talking about something you obviously don't know? Do you seriously know why Sri Lanka is in a debt trap? Apparently not.It's not because Sri Lanka took out Chinese loans to build infrastructure, the Hambantota port. A simple RESEARCH on the issue could have lead you to this BBC article, which succinctly explains why the Hambantota port was a failure, making Sri Lanka trapped in a cycle of debt.

Sass also added that Hambantota struggled because it is isolated and it had a hard time making money, which we don't think is going to happen to Bicol. She cited a quote from BBC.

"Hambantota has struggled to make money, partly because it is fairy isolated. With no industrial hub nearby, there are no natural customers on its doorstep...The island's total debt stands at $64bn. About 95% of all government revenues go towards debt repayment.And when some of that money borrowed has been seemingly squandered on infrastructure that shows no sign of turning a profit, that is even more damaging."

She also said that instead of blaming the loan, Leni should be looking at the failure in planning instead. Courageously, she also added, that instead of putting up shallow assessments she should get to work.

So instead of blaming loan, you must blame poor planning. Infrastructure must aid economic growth. If infrastructure development leads to economic flourishing, then the loan could be paid off easily, avoiding the so-called debt trap.So instead na magbubunganga ka diyan ng mga "slogan" at shallow assessment of what happened in another country, PLEASE lang Mrs Robredo, prove to us that you are worth your salary: present to us an ACTUAL analysis that the infrastructure development in the Bicol region or anywhere in the Philippines financed by Chinese or any loan would suffer the same fate as Sri Lanka's Hambantota port. Eto ang clue Mrs Robredo: If you can demonstrate how the Bicol Express rail system financed by Chinese loan wouldn't generate economic returns like what happened to Hambantota port, then tama ka. But honey, you have to show it with an actual analysis, hind iyong nag-iisue ka ng mga apocalyptic statements.In short: Magtrabaho ka! 

Read the full post here:

Watch VP Leni's interview here:

Source: Facebook