2014 budget endorsed for plenary OK

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – Saying there was a need for the Senate  “to rise above the pork-tainted political bickering,”  Senator  Francis “Chiz” Escudero formally  endorsed on Tuesday for plenary approval the  proposed 2014 national budget  sans  the  “pork barrel”” funds of senators  and that of Vice President Jejomar Binay.

Escudero, chairman of the finance committee, presented on the floor  the proposed  P2.264 trillion budget for 2014, which was  P3.2 billion lower  than the  proposed  P2.268 trillion by Malacanang.

The cut in the budget represented that P3 billion Priority Development Assistance Fund  (PDAF) or “pork barrel” funds of the 15 senators, who gave up their P200 million allocation each and another P200 million PDAF from  Binay’s  office.

“In these times of turmoil and political discord, we face the Herculean task of rebuilding, not just the damage wrought by the natural disasters that have befallen our hapless country, but also the shattered image of the Senate as a hallowed institution uncorrupted by the pork barrel scandal that has outraged the nation,” Escudero said when he sponsored the proposed budget on the floor.

“We’re no Hercules, Mr. President, but in this time of national calamity and amid the unspeakable grief and despair of our countrymen who tragically lost their entire homes and loved ones to nature’s fury, the least we can do is to rise above pork-tainted political bickerings and instead start rolling up our sleeves and giving our countrymen the Senate that they, in earnest, truly deserve,” he said.

Escudero described the 2014 budget as “the most detailed budget proposal in our country’s history.”

“Almost all are ‘line items’ to include personal services, maintenance and other operating expenses, and capital outlays, so that transparency is very high,”  he said.

“There would be no need any more for the infamous Special Allotment Release Order or SARO that authorizes a government agency to incur obligations not exceeding a given amount during the specified period.”

Among the proposal by the committee were:

* P5.5 billion  allocation for the  Calamity Fund under the National Disaster  Risk Reduction Management Council;

* P250 million in Quick Response Funds for the Department of Health; another P350 million in Quick Respond Funds for the Department of  Transportation and Communication;

* P100 million for the Department of Justice’s JUSIP-Construction, Repair and   Rehabilitation of Building;

* P500 million for the  Initial Construction of a new building for the Securities and Exchange Commission;

* P50 million for the implementation of Clean Air Regulations under the DENR-Environmental Management Bureau;

* P70 million for Climate Change Adaptation works for the Department of   Agriculture;

*re-alignment  of P2.5 billion from lump-sum appropriations for scholarship programs to the budget  of the 112 State Universities and Colleges.

Another major amendment proposed by  the committee  was the creation of a new special purpose fund  dubbed as Disaster Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Fund amounting to amounting  to P20 billion.

The fund, Escudero said, would be used for the rehabilitation, repair and reconstruction works and activities of areas affected by the typhoons Yolanda, Santi, and Labuyo, as well as the recent 7.2 magnitude tectonic earthquake.

“Its funds shall be released directly to the implementing agencies and/or local government units concerned and shall be used for repair and rehabilitation of the following:  irrigation systems; school buildings; electrification infrastructure; academic building of state universities and colleges; historical sites;  roads, bridges, government buildings and other infrastructure; airports and ports; and local infrastructure,” he said.

“It shall also be used for the construction of housing units, purchase of emergency relocation/structures, core shelter program, and the cash for work livelihood program,” Escudero added.
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