By Azer N. Parrocha
MANILA, Nov. 19 (PNA) — The Senate on Tuesday began deliberations on the proposed 2014 national budget of P2.264 trillion, which is P3.2 billion lower than the P2.268-trillion budget originally submitted by Malacañang to Congress.
Sen. Francis Escudero, Senate Finance Committee chairman, said that the P3.2-billion cut represents the pork barrel or Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) given up by 15 senators and the Office of Vice President Jejomar Binay.
This is the “most detailed” in the country’s history to date, itemizing almost all items earmarked for personal services, maintenance and other operating expenses down to capital outlays, he said.
Escudero, who delivered the sponsorship speech, described the endorsement as one being done in “a time of turmoil” due to back-to-back mayhem from natural calamities to corruption controversies.
In his speech, Escudero said that the Senate recommended major increases in several budgetary items, including:
* P5.5 billion additional allocation for the Calamity Fund, which was recommended to be renamed as the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Fund.
* P300 million in Quick Response Funds for the Department of Health, particularly for the deployment of medical teams, procurement of commodities, and financial assistance to hospitals and purchase of medical equipment.
* P300 million in Quick Respond Funds for the Department of Transportation and Communications for immediate rehabilitation of crucial transportation facilities.
* P100 million for the Department of Justice’s JUSIP construction, repair and rehabilitation of buildings.
* P500 million for the initial construction of a new building for the Securities and Exchange Commission.
* P50 million for the implementation of Clean Air Regulations under the DENR-Environmental Management Bureau.
* P20 million for Climate Change Adaptation works for the Department of Agriculture.
* Realignment of P2.5 billion from lump-sum appropriations for scholarship programs to the budget of the 112 State Universities and Colleges which was done in consultation with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).
Escudero said that one other major amendment is the creation of a new special purpose fund, the P20-billion Disaster Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Fund.
This will be used for the rehabilitation, repair and reconstruction works and activities in areas affected by the typhoons “Yolanda,” “Santi,” and “Labuyo,” as well as the recent 7.2-magnitude tectonic earthquake in the Visayas.
Escudero said that its fund will be released directly to the implementing agencies and/or local government units concerned.
It will be used for repair and rehabilitation of the irrigation systems, school buildings, electrification infrastructure, academic buildings of state universities and colleges, historical sites, roads, bridges, government buildings and other infrastructure; airports and ports; and local infrastructure.
It will also be used for the construction of housing units, purchase of emergency relocation/structures, core shelter program, and the cash-for-work livelihood program.
Escudero ended his sponsorship speech by saying that the Senate has yet to face the Herculean task of rebuilding.
With what he meant by rebuilding, it was “not just the damage wrought by the natural disasters” but also “the shattered image of the Senate as a hallowed institution uncorrupted by the pork barrel scandal.”
“The least we can do is to rise above pork-tainted political bickerings and instead start rolling up our sleeves and giving our countrymen the Senate that they, in earnest, truly deserve,” he stressed.
Meanwhile, Senate President Pro-tempore Sen. Ralph Recto, who delivered his co-sponsorship speech, also made three more proposals:
* The realignment of two items in the Unprogrammed Fund — the opaque P30-billion Risk Management Program and the vague P25-billion Debt Management Program — for the rebuilding of hospitals and schools, the construction of homes, and additional subsidy to local governments.
* The mobilization of a portion of the P70-billion Coconut Levy Fund for the rehabilitation of coconut and other farm lands
* The utilization of the Malampaya Fund for the restoration of power in storm-damaged areas.
“I am heartened by the fact that the administration is crowd-sourcing ideas on how to bring as many people on the path to recovery as fast as possible. This will be in response to their call,” Recto said.
“Let us assure them that we will be doing it responsibly. Tweaking the budget shouldn’t be read as weakening it. On the contrary, it strengthens it by infusing inputs which were absent during its preparation,” he added. (PNA)