Join Arroyo, see the world; P1B set aside for travel
By Christian V. Esguerra
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 05:27:00 09/24/2008
Filed Under: State Budget & Taxes, Politics, Government offices & agencies
MANILA, Philippines—Join the Arroyo administration and see the world.
This may well be the slogan of Malacañang, which is seeking an additional allocation of at least P1 billion for travel in the proposed P1.4-trillion national budget for 2009.
Malacañang is pushing the amount of P7.7 billion—up from P6.7 billion in the current budget, representing a 14.9-percent increase—to cover the travel expenses of 26 government agencies, according to a budget analysis prepared by the minority bloc at the House of Representatives. A copy of the 13-page document was given to the Philippine Daily Inquirer (parent company of INQUIRER.net).
But opposition Rep. Rufus Rodriguez of Cagayan de Oro City raised the suspicion that the increase in the travel budget could have something to do with the 2010 elections.
“We’d like the administration to answer why there is an increase of P1 billion in travel expenses when we should be conserving our resources,” Rodriguez told the Inquirer Tuesday.
“Will the additional amount be spent for the early campaign of administration candidates?” he said.
Biggest gainers
The biggest gainer in the proposed increase is the Department of Agrarian Reform, whose P470.2-million allocation was raised by 1,351.2 percent from the current P32.4 million.
The second biggest gainer is the office of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, with an increased allocation of P436 million from P408.6 million.
Curiously, Congress had the biggest travel budget—P728.1 million—in the proposed national expenditure program for 2009. The amount represented a 0.3-percent increase from the present P726 million.
The travel allocation is part of the maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) of every government agency’s budget.
Overall, the item is worth P781.2 billion in the 2009 budget proposal, or a 16.6-percent increase from the current amount.
In its budget analysis, the minority bloc questioned the increase of close to 17 percent in the maintenance and other operating expenses, considering that the Department Budget Coordinating Council had pegged next year’s inflation rate at only between 6 and 8 percent.
“The MOOE is practically the aspect of the government budget that is most sensitive to inflation,” the minority bloc said.
Losers
But if there were gainers in the proposed travel allocation, there were also losers.
The Department of Trade and Industry’s travel budget was cut by 18.9 percent, from P237.6 million to P192.8 million. The Department of Social Welfare and Development also lost 17.2 percent, from P99.6 million to P82.5 million.
The travel budget of the Department of Health likewise dropped from P236 million to P198 million, and that of the Department of Science and Technology, from P61.4 million to P55.6 million.
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