‘BUDGET FOR REAL CHANGE’ Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno hands over a copy of the proposed 2017 General Appropriations Act to Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and other lawmakers. The “Budget for Real Change” allocates resources to programs and projects on the Duterte administration’s 10- point socioeconomic development agenda. CONTRIBUTEDPHOTO
THE DUTERTE administration has set aside P3.35 billion for the full implementation of the reproductive health (RH) law in the P3.35-trillion national budget for 2017 it submitted to the House of Representatives on Monday.
The implementation of the RH law, which was passed during the Aquino administration despite strong objections from the Catholic Church, has been stymied by suits and cuts in its budget.
Dubbed “a budget for real change,” the proposed General Appropriations Act (GAA) for next year is 11.6 percent higher than the P3.002-trillion national budget this year.
Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno handed over the document to Speaker Pantaleon “Bebot” Alvarez and House Majority Leader Rudy Fariñas.
Another item in the proposed GAA aimed at helping the poor is the P23 billion in rice allowance for at least 3 million conditional cash transfer (CCT) beneficiaries. The amount translates to 20 kilos of rice each month for every family beneficiary, on top of the cash allowance.
Another item is the setting aside of P16.7 billion for performance-based bonuses as a carrot to speed up government service as President Duterte is not fond of people lining up for licenses or paying fees.
The proposed GAA saw double-digit increases in the budgets for the police, military, judiciary, transportation, education, infrastructure and social welfare and development.
In his budget message to Congress, Mr. Duterte said the 2017 GAA would give “flesh and bone” to his campaign promise to bring change “here and now” and fight for social justice.
No pork
While government finances were in “a much better shape,” the President said he would avoid making the mistakes of the past administration of underspending due to poor budget planning and spending only within the bounds of the law, which meant no hidden Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or Disbursement Acceleration Program that have been outlawed by the Supreme Court.
“The problem with the budgets in the past is that what’s stated there is not necessarily what’s implemented. Past administrations had changed some of the items in the budget at whim; through abuse in the use of savings, the reenactment of the budget and proliferation of lump sum funds,” Mr. Duterte said.
He committed to have one of the most transparent and participatory budgets in the world with strong emphasis on accountability.
“We will not just dump data online. We will uphold the citizens’ right to demand information: when and how they want it,” the President said.
He hoped that Congress would also pass a freedom of information law after he made this one of his first executive actions in office.
Local governments would be treated as partners in good governance with their access to national funds dependent not on political will or favor but on their ability to improve their standards and public services.
“We will end this unjust state of affairs,” he said.
War on drugs
In a statement, Diokno said the budgets of the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines were substantially increased to support the administration’s war on drugs, criminality and terrorism.
The proposed PNP budget amounted to P110.4 billion, or 24.6 percent higher than that in 2016, to enable it to hire more personnel and purchase more guns and patrol vehicles to intensify its suppression of criminality, he said.
For the military, the proposed budget is P130.6 billion, up 15 percent, to complement the AFP Modernization Program, under which P25 billion was allocated to better equip soldiers for counterterrorism.
Diokno said the administration would improve infrastructure building by increasing infrastructure spending to 7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).
The proposed budget for infrastructure is P860.7 billion, up 13.8 percent.
The administration has also proposed a P31.5-billion budget for the Mindanao Logistics Infrastructure Network, significantly higher than the current budget of P19.5 billion.
Education
The education sector will still have the biggest proposed allocation, as mandated by the Constitution, with P699.95 billion, or 20.9 percent of the total budget.
The Department of Education is allocated P570.4 billion, or 31 percent higher than the current budget.
Outlay for state universities and colleges is P58.8 billion, 18.3 percent higher than the P49.7 billion budget this year.
A P120.5-billion budget has been suggested for agriculture and agrarian reform. The health sector is proposed to get P151.5 billion, of which P94 billion is for the universal health program.
The proposed budget for the Department of Social Welfare and Development amounted to P129.9 billion, of which P78.7 billion is for the CCT program.
The National Housing Authority was given P12.6 billion for socialized housing, as well as housing aid for calamity victims.
A P29.4-billion budget was proposed for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, up 32 percent from its present allocation.
Internet speed
For the newly created Department of Information and Communications Technology, the administration proposed a budget of P3.56 billion to address the slow internet speed and electronic-related crimes, and to mainstream information and communications technology in schools.
The Department of Science and Technology was proposed to have P20.8 billion, or 14.2 percent higher than the current budget.
In a briefing during the presentation of the proposed GAA in the House, Diokno doused speculation that the PDAF was making a comeback.
While the Supreme Court has banned the post-budget realignment of funds at the behest of lawmakers, Diokno said the administration still retained the “right to request and identify projects.”
Special purpose funds
Diokno said P1.3 trillion in special purpose funds could be found in the proposed GAA, of which more than P800 billion would be under the control of the President and the balance in the form of the internal revenue allotment for local government units.
The lump sum funds under the President’s control included salary adjustments for all workers and the use of “contingent funds.”
Diokno explained that the Office of the President’s budget was bloated by the P15 billion it set aside for the country’s hosting of the 50th anniversary of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations next year. With a report from Marlon Ramos