House ratifies P2.2T budget for 2014

House of Representatives. AP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–The House of Representatives on Monday ratified the P2.264 trillion 2014 budget, which contains the much-needed P100 billion rehabilitation and reconstruction fund for calamity-stricken provinces.

Of the P100 billion, only P20 billion have been programmed and are among the lump sum appropriations in the budget.

The remaining P80 billion for the reconstruction is part of the unprogrammed fund, and would be sourced from loans. The reconstruction fund was quickly added to the budget in the final stages after a spate of recent calamities hit the country, the latest being super typhoon Yolanda, which leveled several Visayan provinces.

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte said the President is expected to sign the budget on December 20.

The 2014 budget is also the first that no longer contains Congress’ Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), a multi-billion allocation that lawmakers had used to finance their pet projects, including scholarships, medical assistance, multi-purpose buildings and road construction.

But Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares warned that the while the PDAF is gone, there were many lump sum appropriations lodged under the allocations for the executive.

Colmenares said Congress should have insisted that the administration itemize the lump sum amounts in the name of transparency and accountability.

He said that if these would remain lump sums, they could be prone to corruption or could be used to perpetuate patronage politics.

Lawmakers, now bereft of their own pork barrel, might come begging to Malacañang for a share in the lump sum funds for their own districts, he earlier warned.

During the vote, Colmenares, a member of the minority, wanted House leaders to explain the changes made to the original version of the budget that the House had passed. But the vote continued without his queries being addressed, prompting him to complain that the ratification was railroaded.

But Belmonte said the 2014 budget was something that had been exhaustively discussed for several months.

He also said fellow members of the House minority were included in the bicameral conference committee and had signed off on the final version of the budget.