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News
October
2, 2009
Congress urged to advise PGMA to use
P140 Billion savings as calamity fund
The Alternative Budget Initiative (ABI)
urged Congress to refrain from proposing
a P10 billion supplemental budget for
calamity fund and instead advise
President Gloria Arroyo to use the P140
billion savings incurred by the
government from funds impounded in 2008.
The President did not release funds for
programs of different agencies in 2008
and transferred the total amount to
overall savings.
“The P10 billion supplemental budget for
calamity fund proposed by Congress will
only cause more hardships for millions
of hungry Filipino family because this
will just add to the country’s
ballooning deficit,” said former
national treasurer Leonor Magtolis
Briones, lead convenor of Social Watch
Philippines (SWP) which organized the
ABI. The deficit starts at P210 billion
as of end August. It is expected to
breach P300 billion by the end of the
year.
“Meanwhile, life has been a calamity for
3.7 million Filipino families with no
food, no education, and no healthcare
because of the funds for social
development programs impounded by the
government and transformed to savings.
The Office of the President should order
the release of its savings and
immediately use this for calamity
victims,” Briones said. “Another option
is for Congress to advise the President
to use Special Purpose Funds.
Briones added that lump sums classified
as Special Purpose Funds (SPFs) may also
be tapped in times of disasters. This
includes billions of pesos under the
Allocations for Local Government Units (ALGU)
which includes the Kilos Asenso Fund and
Financial Subsidy to LGUs.
She added that the President should
inform Congress if it will transfer
certain budget items to the calamity
fund.
The ABI, a consortium of 60 non
government organizations (NGOs) globally
acknowledged for initiating
legislator-civil society partnerships
for more allocation for social
development, will present their
alternative budget proposals as well as
the roster funds for health,
agriculture, environment and health
which were impounded or unreleased to
the Committee on Appropriations on
Saturday (October 3, 2009). The House
Committee on Appropriations supported
people’s participation in the budget
process by including the ABI’s
alternative budget proposals in their
budget hearings since 2007. For the 2009
national budget, the ABI was able to
push for P7.7 billion additional
allocations for social development
programs when legislators adopted their
alternative budget proposals.
“A supplemental budget for calamity fund
may cause more socioeconomic disasters.
The answer is to tap billions of
impounded funds and Special Purpose
Funds as calamity funds. We call on
Congress, which should be the wielder of
the power of the purse, to demand
accountability and demand the release of
billions of funds impounded under the
President’s instructions so that life
would not be a calamity for the present
and future generations,” Briones said.
.
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