Budget not for election–Drilon

Senate President Franklin Drilon. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

That the P3-trillion 2016 budget would be used to favor certain parties in the coming elections is “speculative,” according to Senate President Franklin Drilon.

But Drilon, vice chair of the ruling Liberal Party, cautioned the public to keep a close watch on how public funds are spent even as he declared the administration’s commitment to be transparent and to abide by the Supreme Court decisions on the allocation and use of public funds.

“You know, those fears that they might be used for elections, this and that, are speculative. What is critical is that we are able to spend public funds in the manner that is consistent with our policies, because 25 percent of the GDP (gross domestic product) is sourced out of government spending,” Drilon told reporters on Thursday.

If the funds are not spent as appropriated, the economy’s expansion could falter, he said.

“The people should watch where the funds would be spent, but we should not act on the basis of fears,” he said.

In his speech before the Makati Business Club on Thursday, Drilon assured businessmen that the 2016 budget would be approved on time just as it was in the past five years.

He described it as a “people-centered budget,” where the social services sector would get its highest budget allocation in history—P1.1 trillion. The amount represents 26.8 percent of the proposed budget.

Earlier, a militant lawmaker asserted that the 2016 budget was for “ramped up election spending,” noting that the lump sum local government support fund (LGSF) would balloon from P3.1 billion to P18.4 billion in 2016.

According to the 2016 National Expenditure Program, the LGSF would be used for the local government’s priority program, bottom-up budgeting projects and provincial roads improvement.