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News
October 4, 2009
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
SUPPORTS CAMPAIGN FOR 2010 ALTERNATIVE
BUDGET
THE House Committee on Appropriations
proved its support for people’s
participation in the budget process by
conducting a special hearing for civil
society groups’ alternative budget
proposals for 2010. During the hearing,
the Committee, chaired by Cong. Junie
Cua, agreed to look into the proposed
realignment of funds for social
development programs. They also agreed
to raise the issue of impoundment of
funds done by the Office of the
President.
“Members of the Alternative Budget
Initiative or ABI are really thankful to
Cong. Cua and Cong. Edcel Lagman and the
entire Committee on Appropriations for
including civil society groups in budget
deliberations and conducting a special
hearing on our alternative budget
proposals every year for already three
years,” said former national treasurer
Leonor Briones, lead convenor of Social
Watch Philippines which organized the
ABI.
“Civil society groups could not have
been able to push for a total of P5.3
billion additional allocations for
social development in the 2007 budget,
P6.3 billion increases in the budget for
environment, agriculture, education and
health in the 2008 budget and P7.7.
billion increases for critical
socioeconomic programs in the 2009
budget if the Committee on
Appropriations has ignored our
campaign,” Briones added.
Impoundment of
Congressional Initiatives
During the meeting on the alternative
budget, Cong. Lagman and Congressman
Teofisto Guingona III proposed that
Congress should issue a provision
against impoundment of budget items by
the executive.
Members of the Committee were dismayed
that certain budget items that were
included in the General Appropriations
Act through the initiative of
legislators are not being released.
These congressional insertions in the
national budget include the additional
allocations for health, environment,
agriculture and education proposed by
the ABI.
The ABI reported to the Committee that
the budget for socioeconomic programs in
the 2008 and 2009 General Appropriations
Act (GAA) were not released by the
Department of Budget and Management (DBM).
Among the impounded funds in the 2008
GAA includes P1.8 billion for Family
Health, P400 million for Tuberculosis
Program, P100 million for autoclaves;
P100 million for the promotion of
organic agriculture under the Bureau of
Soils and Water Management (BSWM) and P2
million for training for system of rice
intensification (SRI) under PhilRice.
Meanwhile, budget items for the
environment in the 2009 GAA are also not
being released. This includes P95
million for Protected Areas and Wildlife
Management and P1 billion for
reforestation.
“The legislators’ initiatives in the
budget are approved for political
purposes, but the actual funds for these
budget items are not being released.
This is happening because President
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, in 2008,
introduced the notion of conditional vet
where the release of Congress’
initiatives in the budget has to be with
her approval. She combined this with her
power to impound certain budget items
and move them to her direction,” Briones
explained.
“The President always intervenes with
the release of funds. The Commission on
Audit already reported that she has
transferred funds for departments such
as the Department of Public Works and
Highways and the Department of
Agriculture to Special Purpose Funds
which are under the control of the
President. Once the budget items have
changed identity, they are already out
of reach of Congress,” she added.
Cong. Guingona III said that the Senate
and House of Representatives should join
forces against the issue of impoundment
of funds.
Alternative
Budget Proposal for 2010
“We are very encouraged by the proposal
of Cong. Edcel Lagman that the
Congressmen adopt our entire alternative
budget proposal for 2010 and hope that
the new administration in 2010 will not
impound our proposed budget items
anymore,” said Rene Raya of Action for
Economic Reforms (AER).
The ABI proposed a total of P25.2
billion additional allocations for
health, agriculture, environment and
education. The group also proposed a
total of P50 billion alternative sources
of financing to be able to increase the
budget for social development. The
alternative sources of financing
includes Special Purpose Funds,
Unprogrammed Funds and other budget
items which are lump-sumps in nature,
highly discretionary, have no clear
mechanisms for accountability in
utilization and have vague or redundant
purpose.
The Committee on Appropriations agreed
to look at the personnel benefits fund,
tax expenditure fund, and interest
payments to scrutinize alternative
sources of financing. The Congressmen
also agreed that the most ideal strategy
to minimize borrowings is the rational
reallocation of the budget.
Meanwhile, Raya said that the proposed
alternative budget for education targets
investing in teachers for quality
education, providing access to
education, and achieving functional
literacy for all. “The country’s
international standing in education has
been significantly eroded. UNESCO’s
Education Development Index (EDI) for
year 2008 ranked the Philippines 75th
among 125 countries, falling behind most
Asian countries such as China, Malaysia,
Indonesia and Vietnam. Many studies have
actually been done which point to the
same problems related to resources,
efficiency and governance,” he said.
Hazel Tanchuling of Rice Watch and
Action Network said that the alternative
budget proposal for agriculture will
ensure crop insurance, reduction of
fertilizer and seeds subsidy and
thorough study of the devolution of
agriculture extension work. “More than
half of the rural population is poor and
we are more and more becoming food
insecure. What is more important for
agriculture is ensuring that spending is
cost effective, promotes sustainable
agriculture practices and educates
farmers to climate proof their farms,”
said Tanchuling.
For the health sector, Mercy Fabros of
WomanHealth Philippines said that the
Philippines has the worst health
performance in Asia, with infant
mortality rate (IMR) and maternal
mortality rate (MMR) being among the
highest in the region. Their alternative
budget proposal will address problems on
infant and maternal mortality, unmet
family planning needs, child mortality,
tuberculosis, rabies, hazardous
hospital/medical wastes, phase out of
mercury in all government hospitals and
human resource issues in the public
health sector.
Meanwhile, Jonathan of La Liga Policy
Institute said that the alternative
budget proposals for environment call
for critical climate change financing
priorities. This includes
renewable/sustainable energy systems;
biodiversity, sustainable agriculture,
fisheries and forestry; clean and green
industrial technology; ecological waste
management; and disaster response and
risk reduction.
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