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Senate OKs 2012 budget

MANILA, Philippines – Voting 18-1, the Senate yesterday approved on third and final reading the proposed P1.8-trillion national budget for 2012.

Sen. Joker Arroyo cast the lone dissenting vote.

Senate committee on finance chairman Franklin Drilon said the funds that were removed from the judiciary, Congress and the other constitutional offices and placed under the newly created Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund (MPBF), have been restored.

He said both the House and the Senate agreed to restore some P4.97 billion to the judiciary, Congress and constitutional offices.

The MPBF was introduced in the 2012 budget to impound the funds intended for filling up the unfilled positions of the different agencies and departments. The judiciary and constitutional offices, however, opposed the planned transfer of the funds to the MPBF, saying their fiscal autonomy is guaranteed under the Constitution.

The Senate removed a special provision in the House-approved bill, which requires the judiciary, Congress and constitutional offices to return to the national treasury all unused funds pertaining to the unfilled positions.

Drilon said that the Senate recommended that the unused funds be used for the repair and rehabilitation of the Manila hall of justice and other similar facilities, the courts across the country and the other buildings under the control of these offices.

However, Arroyo said it remains to be seen if the entire budget would be released to the judiciary, Congress and the constitutional offices once the 2012 General Appropriations Act is enacted.

“There was an attempt by the executive to invade what is really ours, the legislative. If the leadership had not complained, we would have provided a rope to hang ourselves,” Arroyo also noted in his response to the sponsorship speech of Drilon.

Arroyo said the fiscal autonomy of the judiciary and Congress is guaranteed in the Constitution and has always been respected by the executive branch.

He also questioned the validity of the description by President Aquino of the 2012 national budget as a “reform budget.”

Arroyo claimed that the 2012 budget has lump sum appropriations that are bigger than this year’s budget as well as those from the previous years.

“It (Malacañang) always complains about the lump sum appropriations and always pledge to correct that. It has not undertaken the reform on a simple but important item, the lump sum appropriation,” he said.

Arroyo also noted that lump sum appropriations can be spent by the officials of the agencies concerned in any way they desire and as such can be abused.

He also cited some P200 billion in unspent funds in the current budget.

But Drilon said Arroyo may have been referring to the difference between the programmed budget deficit for this year, which was at around P300 billion, and the current projection of around P100 billion.

“The programmed deficit is nothing more than an authorization, not cash available. There is no cash of P200 billion lying around,” Drilon said.
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By: Marvin Sy
Source: The Philippine Star, Nov. 23, 2011
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