MANILA, Philippines?Malacañang has opted to jack up the amount of government subsidy for government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) in the proposed 2011 national budget despite the allegedly excessive bonuses and allowances their officials were already enjoying.
If the P1.645-trillion national budget is approved, GOCCs will enjoy an additional P1.1 billion in subsidy, according to a 27-page briefing paper presented by Secretary Florencio Abad to President Aquino and the rest of the Cabinet recently.
Sen. Franklin Drilon, finance committee chairperson, arrived at the amount, noting that the P14.2 billion in the current national budget would be slashed to P7.3 billion next year. He said the deduction would basically come in the form of the P8-billion subsidy removed from the National Food Authority (NFA) for rice procurement.
Subtracted from P14.2 billion, the subsidy taken away from the NFA should have left GOCCs with P6.2 billion. But since P7.3 billion was officially included in the 2011 national budget, the disparity meant GOCCs would actually get P1.1 billion more in subsidy, according to Drilon.
The senator said he would scrutinize the matter once formal budget deliberations begin. ?I want to know why subsidies are being increased and where they will actually go,? he told the Inquirer in a phone interview.
The national expenditure program was prepared after Mr. Aquino spent part of his State of the Nation Address (Sona) attacking hefty bonuses and allowances at the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) that reportedly amounted to as many as 30 months.
A subsequent Senate finance committee hearing showed MWSS officials and employees enjoying P242 million in bonuses in 2009 alone. Senators also found out that even MWSS drivers were entitled to a car loan.
In the document, a copy of which was obtained by the Inquirer, Abad spelled out seven key ?expenditure allocation policies? for the proposed 2011 budget. Specifically on personal services, he said the government would ?tighten allocation for magna carta benefits and allowances of GOCCs.?
?I don?t know how they propose to reconcile that (with the P1.1-billion increase in GOCC subsidy),? Drilon said.
Over all, the Palace allocated P23.3 billion for GOCCs, down from P59.1 billion in the current budget. Besides subsidy, the amount included equity (from P6.8 billion to P1 billion) and tax expenditure fund (from P38.1 billion to P15 billion).
