By Sammy F. Martin
MANILA, Dec. 15 (PNA) — The House of Representatives on Monday ratified the 2015 proposed Php 2.606 trillion national budget and approved on third and final reading the Palace-proposed Php 22.46-billion supplemental budget.
Deputy Speaker and Nationalist People’s Coalition Rep. Giorgidi Aggabao of Isabela said that majority of the lawmakers have voted separately for the passage of the House Bill 5237 (supplemental budget) and 2015 General Appropriation Act.
Under the proposed 2015 GAA, the Congress has adopted a new definition of savings.
The bill said the president, the Senate president, speaker of the House, Supreme Court chief justice, the head of constitutional commission enjoying fiscal autonomy, and the Ombudsman are hereby authorized to use savings in their respective appropriations to augment actual deficiencies incurred for the current year in any item of their respective appropriations.
It also said that the foregoing constitutional officers authorized to use savings shall be responsible for ensuring that a semestral and annual report on their respective use of savings shall be submitted to the Senate Committee on Finance and the House Committee on Appropriations, copy furnished the DBM.
Savings refer to portions or balances of any released appropriations in this which have not been obligated as a result of any of the following:
– Final discontinuance or abandonment of an ongoing program, activity or project (PAP) by the head of the agency concerned due to cause not attributable to the fault or negligence of the said agency.
– Non-commencement of the PAP for which the appropriations is released. For this, purposed, non-commencement shall refer to the inability of the agency or its duly authorized procurement agent to obligate the released allotment and implement the PAP due to natural or man-made calamities or other causes not attributable to the fault or negligence of the agency concerned during the validity of the appropriations.
The budget bill said that savings may likewise refer to available balances of appropriations from unused compensation, unfilled, vacant positions, non-entitlement to allowance and benefits, leaves of absence without pay and unutilized pension and retirement benefits arising from death of pensioners.
Earlier, Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab, chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, assured public that the Congress’s definition of savings complies with the Supreme Court decision against the Disbursement Acceleration Program.
Meanwhile, of all the government agencies the Department of Education (DepED) will get lion’s share of 2015 budget with the DepEd’s proposed Php364.95 billion budget for next year.
Next to Deped are Department of Public Works and Highways with Php300.51 billion, Department of National Defense, Php144.03 billion; Department of the Interior and Local Government, Php141.42 billion; Department of Social Welfare and Development, Php108.97 billion and Department of Health with Php102.17 billion.
The government has also allotted Php88.81 billion for Department of Agriculture, Php59.46 billion for Department of Transportation and Communications, Php21.29 billion for Department of Environment and Natural Resources and Php20.28 billion for the judiciary.
The lower chamber also on Monday approved the Palace-proposed Php22.46-billion supplemental budget.
The supplemental budget will be transmitted this week to the Senate for its own deliberations.
President Aquino has certified as urgent the supplemental budget, meaning the lower chamber can approve the measure on second and third reading in the same day.
Meanwhile, big chunks of the supplemental budget were allotted to Department of the Interior and Local Government-Philippine National Police (Php2.8 billion); Department of Public Works and Highways (Php1.9 billion); Department of Social Welfare and Development-National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (Php1.9 billion); DSWD-emergency shelter assistance for victims of Typhoon Yolanda (Php2 billion); Department of Transportation and Communications-Metro Rail Transit 3 Rehabilitation and Capacity Extension (Php1.2 billion) and National Housing Authority-construction of permanent housing for victims of Typhoon Yolanda (Php7.9 billion).
Earlier, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said that the supplemental budget would address urgent funding requirements for priority infrastructure, socio-economic, and rehabilitation and reconstruction projects.
He said that the supplemental budget will fund urgent projects like the housing component required by the Comprehensive Recovery and Rehabilitation Plan (CRRP) for Typhoon Yolanda, which had been approved only this July. Though P11 billion of the funding requirement for housing was covered by the 2014 National Risk Reduction and Management Fund (NDRMMF) and released to the National Housing Authority (NHA), it would still draw Php8 billion from the supplemental budget for a total of Php18.9 billion as required by the CRRP.
Abad said that the Php22.46-billion supplemental budget will also address valid obligations incurred by the National Government on completed or commenced projects under the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) as well as approved projects supported by the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) that need implementation. Though the enactment of both programs was halted by the Supreme Court, these projects were not ruled illegal by the high court. (PNA)