Senator Ralph Recto. INQUIRER file photo
MANILA, Philippines–Senate Pro Tempore Ralph Recto is calling on the government anew to conserve water and electricity as utility expenses next year are projected to reach close to P13 billion.
Recto said the government is proposing P12.9 billion budget for utility expenses in 2015 from the P12.2 billion this year.
He also noted the steady rise in government expenses from P8.4 billion in 2011 to the projected P12.9 billion in 2015.
“If your utilities bill will go up by P4.5 billion in four years, then you have to plan some cost-cutting,” Recto said in a statement on Thursday.
Going by the historical record, the senator said the amount set aside for utilities, has always been breached.
“In 2012, for example, while national budget documents reported an expenditure of P9.2 billion for utilities, actual amount spent according to the Commission on Audit was P11.1 billion,” he said.
Of this amount, Recto said, P8.8 billion was for electricity, P2.2 billion for water, and about P67 million for cooking gas, the latter mostly by hospitals and camps of the uniformed services.
“The ratio is that for every P1 national government allocates for utilities, 80 centavos goes to power, and the rest mostly to water,” he pointed out.
In the 2015 budget, Recto noted that the proposed P12.9 billion allocation for utilities covered national government offices only.
He said the actual bill “is way higher if utility expenses of local governments and government corporation are included.”
Recto said one way of cutting the annual P12.9 billion power and water bill of the national government is for public buildings to be installed with solar panels.
“When it comes to use of renewable energy, government must practice what it preaches,” said the senator, who filed last week the proposed “Green Energy Government Offices Act” which prescribes measures to reduce carbon footprint of government buildings.
Under his measure, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Department of Energy (DOE) are mandated to spearhead the installation of not only green energy systems in public buildings but also the popularization of practical energy conservation guides.
Recto said placing more government buildings under solar power would create job opportunities.
“The current $800 million in direct investments in renewable energy in the country is expected to create 3,500 new jobs,” he pointed out.