MANILA, Philippines -- A non-government organization on Friday called on the congressional bicameral committee reconciling differences between the two chambers? versions of the 2008 budget to retain the cuts in debt interest payment and reallocation for basic services.

The Freedom from Debt Coalition said Senate President Franklin Drilon had raised a valid issue when he questioned the alleged pork barrel insertions in the General Appropriations Bill but added Malacañang was using the issue to derail the proposed reduction in debt interest payments.

"Not only is it riddled with pork barrel insertions, the allocations for essential services such as health, education and housing are woefully inadequate while allocations for interest payments on the debt capture a much bigger chunk of the funds," Lidy Nacpil, FDC vice president, said in a statement.

"But this particular bill is historical because for the first time, special provisions were included that call for the suspension of interest payments on an initial set of loans identified as illegitimate as well as payments to unsecuritized Marcos debts," she
added.

The group said Malacañang was using the pork barrel issue to stir public opinion against the 2008 budget.

"We strongly condemn Malacañang's hypocritical attempt to use the legitimate ire of the people against the pork barrel allocations as a pretext to reject important progressive revisions on debt payments so as not to incur the fury of the global lending community," Nacpil said.

"We must not forget that Arroyo herself enjoys a far bigger pork barrel in the form of un-auditable unprogrammed funds in the budget as well as the off-budget presidential discretionary funds," she added.

The group expects the executive branch to invoke the automatic appropriations law on debt payments to override the bill?s special provisions on debt payment reduction.

It said the passage of these provisions by the House of Representatives constitutes a major political victory in the fight against illegitimate debts.

Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya has said that the executive branch might veto the budget if Congress insisted on the debt payment cuts.

"The Freedom from Debt Coalition urges the Bicameral Conference Committee on the 2008 Budget to exercise political will and uphold the special provisions on debt payment reductions and the re-allocation of the consequent savings to social services," Nacpil said.

"We also demand the all-out scraping of built-in fat in the budget for patronage expenditures," she added.

The FDC also called on the House of Representatives to pass House Bill 329 repealing the automatic Debt Service provision of the Revised Administrative Code of 1987.