Scrutinizing of nat’l budget continues
Credit to Author: Tempo Desk| Date: Tue, 11 Dec 2018 20:07:32 +0000
CONGRESS being the body designated by the Constitution to approve all appropriations of public funds, its members may be expected to seek benefits for their constituencies. In the old days, this was done through the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) – P70 million for each congressman and P200 million for each senator – but the Supreme Court ruled the PDAF unconstitutional, saying legislators should have no hand in the disbursement of government funds after Congress approves the national budget.
Legislators today continue to have their special interests funded through a round-about system where they propose specific projects that are then incorporated into the budgets of the executive departments concerned – say, a river dike, road, or bridge with the Department of Public Works and Highways, or a school with the Department of Education.
Some opposition congressmen have charged that under this system, the legislators have gotten even greater benefits for their constituents. House Majority Leader Rolando Andaya of Camarines Sur said the 2019 budget which the House recently approved includes R8 billion in public works and other funds for projects proposed by 22 senators (minus Sen. Panfilo Lacson and former Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano as he had been appointed secretary of foreign affairs).
The House Oversight Committee met yesterday in an effort to clarify these and other matters related to the national budget, with Secretary Benjamin Diokno of the Department of Budget and Management on the witness stand during the Question Hour. The secretary, of course, could only say that the budget Malacañang presented to Congress for its approval was the product of long and through study on the needs of the country for the year.
One issue that should be resolved in relation to the national budget is the perennial underspending by the Executive Department of funds already approved by Congress. Rep. Antonio Bravo of party-list Coop-Nattco said the underspending has now reached P1.3 trillion.
Over in the Senate, which has yet to approve its version of the General Appropriation Bill, members led by Senator Lacson are determined to ferret out funding for congressmen’s pet projects. Because of this, the Senate will not be able to approve its version of the budget in time for a consolidated National Appropriation Bill for 2019 to be signed by President Duterte this month.
This will be a minor problem for the national government, for in such a case, the Constitution provides that the previous year’s budget is deemed reenacted and in force until the new year’s budget is finally enacted. Senators estimate that this should be no later than the middle of January next year.
All these efforts to scrutinize the national budget for 2019 are welcome. They should minimize, if not totally eradicate, the inclusion of projects of limited impact on the total national development program.