Andaya justifies review of draft spending bill

The worsening budget deficit of the government should prompt lawmakers to recognize that the proposed P3.8-trillion national budget for 2019 is “out of touch with reality,” House Majority Leader Rolando Andaya Jr. said on Monday.

At the same time, the Camarines Sur representative said Congress should “reexamine” the draft spending bill, which was still pending in the Senate after Andaya and other House members questioned “insertions” in the expenditure program submitted by Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno.

Economic pinch

“We are walking on a tightrope and we need a really good balancing act … The numbers for 2018, as far as the country’s fiscal deficit is concerned, do not look so good,” Andaya said in a statement.

“No matter how you spin it, the people on the ground are already feeling the economic pinch and an unresponsive economic plan can lead to people’s unrest,” he said.

Spike in public spending

Andaya, a former budget secretary, said the spike in public spending had been outgrowing the increase in state revenues way above the government targets, which meant the Duterte administration had been spending more than what it had been earning despite imposing additional taxes.

The House majority leader said Diokno himself had stated that the government’s fiscal deficit last year “may fall behind” the P523.7-billion target, or about 3 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.

“Given this development, it is time we realized the proposed 2019 national budget prepared by the DBM is out of touch with reality. We may have to reexamine the 2019 budget closely [in] the conference … with the Senate,” Andaya said.

He said President Duterte’s decision to sign Joint Resolution No. 3 of Congress was a good move, as it extended the validity of the maintenance and other operating expenses, and the capital outlays of the government as contained in the 2018 budget.

Cash-based budgeting gone

“Luckily, the President is a much better economist than his economic managers,” Andaya said, taking a swipe at Diokno, with whom he had locked horns over “insertions” in the 2019 spending bill.

He said the joint resolution also banished the cash-based budgeting system proposed by Diokno.