As the gavel struck the stand in Chiang Mai, signaling the unraveling of the budget bill debate, Move Forward’s very own MP, Phattarapong Leelaphat, was audibly flustered—and for good reason. He laid out, with palpable disappointment, how the current administration under Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin had hoisted the PM2.5 crisis onto the national stage, yet when the curtains were drawn back, the allocated budget was, to put it mildly, underwhelming.
Let’s consider the facts: the Public Health Ministry seemed to have put forward a rather minuscule budget for combating respiratory diseases linked to the insidious PM2.5. Out of the 298.3 million baht floating in the pool for pollution and environmental efforts, a staggering 292 million baht was earmarked for polishing the green and clean image of public hospitals. I ask you, dear reader, where does that leave PM2.5? Well, it seems to be on the bench, watching as only a meager 6.2 million baht is dedicated to decreasing respiratory diseases by a hopeful 5%.
And that’s not all! Phattarapong, ever-vigilant, highlighted a concerning void—no budget for essential PM2.5 prevention gear for our health officials and volunteers, those brave souls who dance with danger in PM2.5 hot zones to aid those who struggle to take a breath. Their protection? Overlooked!
It gets more disheartening for the young minds of our nation. Our beloved government seems to have bypassed the urgent need for air-filtering systems in public schools. Imagine, young lungs, growing ones, being filled with anything but clean air due to a lack of infrastructure. It’s not just disappointing—it’s alarming.
The Ministry of Agriculture didn’t escape Phattarapong’s sharp eye either. The goal was ambitious: to slash farm byproduct burning by a resounding 50%, potentially cutting back the PM2.5 menace. The allocated budget, however, whispered a mere 10%. Talk about falling short of a target!
And, as our MP peeled back the layers on the budget for battling forest fires, the lack of clarity stood out like a sore thumb amidst the smoke. Patterns had been identified in the northern forests, yet how the money would be spent to douse these flames seemed as mysterious as the fires themselves. Where are the drones, the sensors, and the decentralized funding that would empower local fire brigades?
It didn’t end there. When it came to monitoring devices for PM2.5, only a trifecta of regions received attention, while a master plan to warn the public about the PM2.5 levels remained concealed in a cloak of enigma.
The question then arose about a curious 797.5 million baht aimed at combating the risks of climate change—vague, undefined, and leaving Phattarapong, and undoubtedly many others, skeptically scratching their heads. Would this budget fuel the illustrious Clear Sky Strategy that sought diplomacy to douse neighboring fires? The silence on strategy details was deafening.
Elsewhere in the halls of debate, the proverbial tumbleweeds rolled by. Where were the stalwarts of democracy? Prime Minister Srettha was noticeably absent, as Deputy House Speaker Pichet Chuamuangphan busily tallied the minutes of debate from the day before. We were reminded, with meticulous precision, how the governmental timekeepers had kept track of each minute—as if the PM2.5 particulates themselves were logging the debate time.
Then, in a moment of fiscal fervor, Democrat party-list MP Surathin Pichart implored the House to consider pruning the hefty Internal Security Operations Command budget. Could these funds, one wondered, be reallocated to fight the true unseen enemy—air pollution?
Before Phattarapong’s exposé, yet another Move Forward voice, MP Nitipol Phiewmoh, underscored the meek budget reserved for the all-encompassing climate change issue—a global concern, yet seemingly a fiscal afterthought for the Srettha government.
As if to underscore his point, Nitipol pointed to the Meteorological Department’s shiny new budget for airport gadgets and navigation gizmos, all fanciful, yet folly in the fight against carbon emissions. Furthermore, he decried the modest ambition of the newly minted Department Of Climate Change and Environment to cut greenhouse gases by a mere 4% annually when, in stark contrast, Thailand was already on track to trim emissions by a notable 15%.
Nitipol’s rallying cry was clear: bolster the pay of the forest rangers, the guardians of our greenery. Their salaries slashed, their spirits undeterred, but for how long? A paltry sum of 9,000 to 10,000 baht a month was their reward for standing as the last line of defense against the encroaching environmental enemies.
As debates raged and budgets were dissected, one can’t help but yearn for a world where our leaders match their lofty promises with the power of the purse. Clean air, clear skies, healthy lungs—shouldn’t these be basic rights, not luxuries?
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