MANILA, Philippines?The Arroyo administration will initially be operating on a reenacted budget this year as the P1.54-trillion General Appropriations Act, which Congress rushed to pass two weeks ago, has remained unsigned by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

But the leaders of the House of Representatives assured the public that this would only be for the month of January amid concerns a reenacted budget would give the administration greater leeway in spending funds during the election season.

?The budget is in the printing press. It will be sent to President Arroyo between Jan. 7 and 8. Until the President signs it or it lapses into law, we will be operating under a reenacted budget,? said Speaker Prospero Nograles.

Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, senior vice chair of the House committee on appropriations, said the government would only be operating under a reenacted budget this month only. ?There is no scenario of an extended reenacted budget. This will just be for a short period. There will be no disruptions in government finances,? Lagman said in a phone interview.

The P1.54-trillion national budget was ratified by both chambers of Congress before they went on recess for the holidays. Even if the President does not sign it, the budget automatically becomes law after 30 days.

Minority lawmakers are hoping the President would veto some of the provisions in the budget that diverged from her original proposals.

Bloated pork barrel

Sen. Manuel Roxas II claimed that the ?pork barrel? in the budget had been bloated by as much as P35 billion, including an increase in the Priority Development Assistance Fund allotted to lawmakers from P6.94 billion to P9.666 billion, and a P14-billion increase in the budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways. The adjustments were made by decreasing debt service payments by P64 billion.

Congress also has ruled out passing new tax measures despite the surge in the budget deficit to a record high.

Nograles said that imposing more taxes at this point was both ?ill-timed and ill-advised.?

?Additional taxation upon our people is the last thing in our minds today. The house leadership won?t even try it,? he said.

Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez, an administration ally but a harsh critic of Nograles, had blamed the soaring budget deficit (expected to hit P300 billion from the revised estimate of P250 billion) on the House leadership?s failure to pass new taxes.

Suarez has been advocating a tax on text messages and reforms in sin taxes to bolster government revenue and minimize state borrowings.

But Nograles said that imposing new taxes would make the lawmakers appear insensitive to the plight of most Filipinos amid unemployment and lower consumer spending.

He said the tax on text and higher taxes on cigarettes and alcohol drinks would be an additional burden on consumers whose welfare should be prioritized over the state of the government?s finances.

?While additional tax measures may be justified, its timing is very very bad. And to disregard this national feeling is callousness of the highest order,? Nograles said.

Suarez is also seeking the advanced collection of income taxes from large taxpayers through House Resolution 50.

Money for next president

Addressing fears the funds would be used by the incumbent President, he said the money to be raised from the proposed ?front-loading? of income taxes from the country?s wealthiest individuals and most profitable corporations would only be used by the next president.

?We don?t want to leave the next administration with no resources. In fact, our proposal allows him to have cash at his disposal without the government incurring more debt,? said Suarez in a phone interview.

Suarez said business groups had agreed to support his proposal.

Suarez said he had scheduled a meeting between the BIR and the country?s 150 largest taxpayers to finalize the guidelines for the front-loading of the taxes. ?We have to agree how much discounts to give on the taxes that they would pay for 2011 and how these estimates will be reached,? he said.