President Benigno Aquino III signed the P3.002-trillion national budget for 2016 on Tuesday morning.
The signing of the 2016 General Appropriations Act (GAA) or Republic Act no. 10717, held at Rizal Hall in Malacañang, was witnessed by more than 200 government officials, including members of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Aquino, in his speech, said it is the sixth time since he was elected President, that the budget was passed on time.
“Mula nang maupo tayo hanggang sa huling yugto ng ating termino, hindi tayo sumablay sa pagpapasa ng ating budget on-time,” he said.
(Since we got into office and until the last chapter of my term, we have never failed to pass the budget on time.)
Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said the administration has been able to double the national budget since 2010, claiming that they have provided the “largest sectoral allocation to social services.”
READ: Aquino signs today ’16 national budget
Of the amount, P436.5 billion will go to the Department of Education while the Department of Public Works and Highways will receive P400.4 billion. Other agencies receiving a large share of the pie are the Department of National Defense (P175.2 billion), Department of Interior and Local Government (P154.5 billion), Department of Health (P128.5 billion), Department of Social Welfare and Development (P111 billion), Department of Agriculture (P94 billion), Department of Transportation and Communications (P48.5 billion), and Department of Finance (P33.2 billion).
Aquino called the signing a “historic chapter” for the country.
Past administration
Aquino recalled that when he came into power in 2010, the past administration left him only with a small amount of budget for the latter part of the year.
“Isipin niyo: Sa P1.54 trillion na kabuuang panggugol sa buong taon ng 2010, nasa P100 bilyon, o 6.5 percent lang ang malaya nating gamitin sa nalalabing anim na buwan ng taon. Ang tanong nga po: Saan kaya napunta ang pera?” he said.
(Think about this: Of the P1.54 trillion of the whole budget allocated for 2010, only P100 billion or 6.5 percent can be freely used for the remaining six months of the year. The question is: Where did the money go?)
The President then enumerated the reforms implemented by his administration, including the removal of mechanisms that allowed the abuse of the budget.
He said the delayed passage of the budget results in a delay in services for the people.
“Malinaw ang hangad natin: inclusive growth,” he said. “Isinusulong natin ang masusing konsultasyon upang taumbayan mismo ang magdisenyo ng mga proyektong kailangan nating pondohan.”
(Our desire is clear: inclusive growth…We’ve pushed for the process of detailed consultation so our people can help design the projects that need to be funded.)
Social services
Aquino pointed out that his government has consistently allocated budget for social services and that his cash transfer program has resulted in poverty alleviation.
Citing DSWD statistics, he said 1.5 million households or 7.5 million individuals are no longer within the poverty line because of the cash transfer program or the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino.
He said they were also able to construct 47,553 classrooms, buy 103.2 million textbooks and hire 79,691 teaching and non-teaching personnel with the DepEd budget.
5 percent of GDP
Aquino pointed out that next year’s budget has 5 percent of the GDP allotted for infrastructure. The World Bank earlier suggested that the country target five percent of GDP for infrastructure spending in order to catch up with its Asian neighbours and attract more investors.
READ: Asia’s ‘infrastructure gap’ threatens to hamper growth
The President said the P400.4 billion allotted for DPWH, the agency with the second highest budget next year, will be spent on national roads and flood control projects.
P38.9 billion was also allocated for the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund. Part of the budget will also be used to rehabilitate areas affected by typhoons and to construct evacuation centers.
Aquino said each road, school or port constructed is part of the government’s strategy to achieve widespread development.
“Wala nga ho sigurong makakapagsabi, habang nakapatong ang kamay sa Bibliya, na pinabayaan natin ang kanilang siyudad o probinsiya,” he said.
(No one can say, with a hand on a Bible, that we neglected their city or province.)
Vetoed items
Abad said only three items were vetoed by Aquino.
“The president vetoed three items that provided for the retention of income because there is no substantive law that allows them to retain their income,” Abad told reporters after the signing of the law.
He said retention of income is “an exception that (they) grant very strictly to certain agencies.”
Abad said among the agencies that were not allowed to retain their income were the Bureau of Immigration and the Land Transportation Office.
He said the DOF’s budget rose by 96 percent because of the capitalization of the DBP and Landbank while the DOTC budget was reduced to P48.5 billion (from P59.4 billion this year) because of its remaining budget.
“Marami pa silang existing budget na hindi nagamit so that is carried over to the next year,” he explained.
(They still have a lot of existing budget that was not used up so that is carried over to the next year.)
Change
Aquino thanked Abad, Senate President Franklin Drilon, House Speaker Feliciano “Sonny” Belmonte and other Congress leaders for the drafting and passage of the national budget.
“Ngayong patapos na ang ating termino, binibigyan natin ng kapasidad ang susunod na administrasyon na ipagpatuloy at higit pang maisulong ang pagbabagong nangyayari sa ating lipunan,” he said. “Ang hangad po natin: Huwag nang ipasa sa iba ang minana nating problema.”
(Now that my term is about to end, we are giving the next administration the capacity to further pursue the change happening in our society…Our aim: Not to pass to others the problems we have inherited.)
“Talaga naman pong napakalayo na ng ating narating kumpara sa ating dinatnan. Sa patuloy nating pagkakaisa, alam kong malayo pa ang kaya nating marating,” he said.