IT’S that time of the year again.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson yesterday fired his first salvo against Malacañang’s proposed P4.56 trillion budget for 2021, telling budget managers to explain what he claimed were “questionable” items in the National Expenditure Program (NEP) submitted to Congress last week.
Lacson said there are some items in the proposed budget that were given appropriations in the 2020 national budget.
He said proposed appropriation for the items “will run to hundreds of millions of pesos.”
“Maraming mga infrastructure na naroon na sa 2020 budget na narito na naman sa 2021 budget. Ang tanong, paano nangyari ‘yan? Bakit humihingi na naman ng pondo, pareho ang budget? Kasi ang technical description talagang pareho
(There are a lot of infrastructure projects that were funded in 2020 which are again included in the 2021 proposed national budget. I want to know how did that happen? Those projects were already funded in 2020 under the current budget… Why are they asking for a similar funding? The technical descriptions are the same),” Lacson told reporters in a virtual press conference.
Lacson said he will grill Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado about the “redundant” project appropriations when the Senate kicks off its budget deliberations on the second week of September.
“I want him (Avisado) to clarify that (redundant appropriations)… if a (public works and highways) project is not discontinued in 2020, why would you ask for funds again when it was already funded? So to me that is a big issue because these might be double appropriations),” he said.
Lacson said he will likewise ask the DBM to explain the increase in the proposed national appropriations for next, noting that the government is restrained from implementing big-ticket projects due to the continued threat of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
He also noted the decline in household consumption, which he said was only at 15.5 percent, and the country’s ballooning national debts.
Malacañang’s proposed P4.56 trillion budget for next year is 9.9 percent higher than this year’s approved budget of P4.1 trillion.
“As of December 2019, our national budget was already at P7.8 trillion to P7.9 trillion. Now it has already reached P10 trillion. With our big debts, we might as well decrease our budget. Instead of making it P4.56 trillion, it might be possible if we move a little backward. Anyway, COVID is still here and our government agencies cannot fully implement their projects),” Lacson said.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said the House of Representatives will allow the public to participate in the deliberations on the P4.56 trillion proposed national budget for 2021, which will open on Friday with the annual briefing of the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) on its macro-economic assumptions.
Cayetano urged the public to use social media and other platforms or to reach out to their representatives in order to participate in the budget hearings.
He said the House leadership will be meeting early this week to discuss the mechanics and protocols to be observed by the public in their participation.
“This is going to be the first time that this will be done, so there might be some growing pains. But we want to make sure that it is as inclusive and comprehensive as possible. All those who want to speak should be given a chance to be heard,” Cayetano said in a statement.
The DBCC will tackle the financing of the budget, growth forecasts, sectoral priorities, policies, and initiatives that will be significant in the deliberation of the budget. The body is composed of the Department of Budget and Management, National Economic and Development Authority, Department of Finance, and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
ACT-CIS party-list Rep. Eric Yap, chair of the House committee on appropriations, said the expected change in the House leadership in October will not affect his panel’s work on the 2021 budget.
“Rest assured, we will scrutinize this budget in light of the government’s promise to have this budget felt by our people,” he said. “We will put our sleeves up and work tirelessly – that is our promise.”
While the term-sharing agreement between the Speaker and Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco is set for October, it is not yet certain if the latter will assume the top House post since President Duterte may still opt to retain Cayetano in the end.
A source who is part of the House leadership said a change of leadership and the political bickering that will stem from it will be too disruptive, especially now that the country is now battling the pandemic.
After the DBCC briefing, the House will start on September 7 the hearings on the proposed budgets for the Departments of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and Energy (DOE), Energy Regulatory Commission, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, and Philippine Gaming and Amusement Corporation.
The next day, it will hear the budget proposals of the Departments of National Defense (DND), Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Foreign Affairs (DFA), and Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
On September 9, it will also be the turn of the Departments of Science and Technology (DOST), Trade and Industry (DTI), Labor and Employment (DOLE), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).
On September 10, the Yap panel will tackle the budgets of the Departments of Interior and Local Government, Tourism (DOT), and Agriculture (DA), to be followed by the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO), Departments of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), and Public Works and Highways (DPWH) the next day.
The budgets of the Departments of Justice (DOJ), Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD), and Health (DOH) will be presented to the panel on September 14, while the Office of the President, Office of the Vice President, Departments of Transportation (DOTr) and Education (DepEd) are scheduled the next day. — With Wendell Vigilia
