12 agencies’ funds hiked

The Department of Transportation’s budget was augmented by P275 million to support the operations of the Davao International Airport.

Deputy Speaker Neptali “Boyet” Gonzales II

The House leadership yesterday transmitted to the Senate its version of the budget bill that raises the appropriations of 12 agencies for a total of P9.5 billion, Deputy Speaker Neptali “Boyet” Gonzales II announced.

The chamber’s version of the bill increased the funding of 12 departments with bulk of the higher funds going to the Department of Agriculture that stands to receive an additional P3.5 billion for the purchase of palay from local farmers.

The Department of Transportation’s (DoTr) budget was augmented by P275 million to support the operations of the Davao International Airport.

The Department of Education also obtained an additional P800 million while the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines got P1 billion each for the development of police and military camps.

A small committee that was created to review proposed amendments to the budget measure and led by House appropriations committee chairman Isidro Ungab raised P9.5 billion by realigning P3.75 billion from right of way allocations of the Department of Public Works and Highways and transferring P5.7 billion from the deferred Sangguniang Kabataan ang Barangay elections scheduled next year.

The bill’s version was delivered a day after Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano made public the institutional amendments proposed by the House of Representatives to the P4.1 trillion national budget.

“This morning, the GAB (General Appropriations Bill) was formally transmitted to the Senate.”

According to Gonzales, the early submission of the budget will allow the Senate leeway for its finance committee to review the bill before the break and deliberate on it afterwards.

“We contend that it is a pork-free budget as we strictly confined ourselves to the decision of the Supreme Court which declared the PDAF (Priority Development Assistance Fund) unconstitutional and prohibited the post-enactment identification of projects,” Gonzales said.

“Now, the Senate can finally see it for themselves,” he added.

House members earlier complained against their Senate counterparts whom, congressmen said, issued comments about the bill even before seeing it.

Members of the Senate earlier alleged the 22 Deputy Speakers will receive P1.5 billion each from the P4.1 trillion national budget but this was disputed by no less than Cayetano.

Cayetano maintained there is no lump sum allocation in the budget. The institutional amendments proposed by the House are also not “pork” as he said that the added funds will benefit the public.

“We can argue all we want but the reality is the fact that all those changes included in it did not involve any pork,” Cayetano said.

The House approved on second and on third and final reading the GAB last 20 September, exactly a month after it received the National Expenditure Program from the Department of Budget and Management.

Senator Sonny Angara, chairman of the Senate committee on finance, confirmed the receipt of the house version of the bill.

In a statement sent to reporters, Angara said “our finance subcommittees are completing the hearings on the proposed budgets of the last few agencies.”

Angara said the panel would consolidate all of the submissions into the committee report during the congressional break, and once sessions resume, the budget bill would be sponsored in the plenary.

The committee chairman committed to transmitting the 2020 national budget to Malacañang for signature before the year ends.

“The Senate will work overtime to approve this most important piece of legislation so that the measure will be with the President for signing before the end of the year,” he said.

Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, in his sponsorship speech for a joint resolution directing government bodies to purchase palay from farmers, said rice subsidy is proposed to be included under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4P).

“The Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Department of Agriculture will lead in the disposition of the funds which will be worth P600 per month for each beneficiary,” according to Go.

“For now, several farmers are suffering and each earn an income below minimum wage that is worsened by the entry of cheap imported grains,” Go said.

He cited reports that showed 200,000 farmers have stopped working and 4,000 rice mills have ceased operations.

“So, I am supporting this joint resolution as an immediate measure to address the needs of our farmers,” Go indicated.