MANILA, Philippines -- The cuts in the proposed P1.4-trillion 2009 budget might not come from the lump sum programs, but from operating expenses of government agencies and benefits of state workers, a leader of the minority in the House of Representatives said Wednesday.

Batting anew for "a lean and mean" budget amid the financial turmoil in the US, Minority Floor Leader Ronaldo Zamora proposed that the Personnel Services (PS) and Maintenance and Other Operating Expense (MOOE) of departments be pegged at eight percent, similar to the inflation rate projected by the government for next year.

By doing this, Zamora said the government could easily save P83 billion.

"Instead of the 12 to 15 percent increases, ilagay lang sa [let?s just peg it at] eight percent. Bakit [Why], eh iyon ang [that is the] inflation rate ng [of] government, we're taking them for their word, our figures are based upon the inflation rate of the government. 'Wag masyadong malaki, iyon lang naman ang hinihingi naming [Let?s not make it too big, that?s the only thing we?re asking for]," he said in a news conference.

Zamora reiterated that during plenary debates, they would also scrutinize the lump sum programs and see where further cuts could be made.

PS, which covers personnel salaries, allowances, and pension
contributions of government employees, account for 30.37 percent or P429.72 billion of the proposed budget for next year.

The amount represents an 11.9 percent increase from this year's PS allocation of P384 billion. The increase is due to the 10 percent increase in salaries that the state workers will get as mandated by the Salary Standardization Law 3.

Zamora assured, however, that his proposal would not affect the salary increase of employees.

The MOOE in the proposed budget amounts to P781.15 billion or 55.21 of the budget. But of this amount, P302.6 billion goes to debt servicing and P25 billion goes to the Internal Revenue Allotment of local government units.

In the same news conference, Speaker Prospero Nograles reiterated the need for "economic life vests and parachutes to b able to weather the storm" brought about by the financial crisis abroad.

He maintained that Congress should preserve the P1.4-trillion proposed budget and instead realign the amount to certain departments such as the Department of Agriculture to ensure food security. He said budgets for health and education should also be beefed up.

Representative Junie Cua, committee on appropriations chairman, said the House was on track in deliberating the budget and would finish debates so that it could be passed by Friday, the last day of session before Congress goes on a month-long recess.

"It's crucial that the budget be passed at the earliest possible time because it's a monetary and fiscal tool that government can use against the financial crisis," he said.