Highest Ph gov’t budget

January 1, 2011
For the first time in 11 years, Congress enacted early this month the national government’s budget several weeks before the new fiscal year starts. The budget for 2011 which was signed into law on December 27 by President Benigno S. Aquino III totaled P1.645 trillion, the highest in the history of the national government. The budget is almost one-fifth, or 18.2 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). For Filipinos and Filipino-Americans, the budget is estimated to be equivalent to their combined annual income of $30 to $40 billion.
The budget was approved despite at least three major issues discussed heavily in the legislative deliberations. These were the reduction in the appropriation for the judiciary, the state colleges and universities and the P21 billion outlay for so-called Conditional Cash Transfer Program. The proposed budget cuts on the judiciary and the state schools triggered nationwide protests by the judges themselves, and the students, their parents as well as faculty members. As a sign of protest, the judges wore black armed bands, but they never abandoned their jobs while protesting. The students, on the other hand, marched in the streets and inside their campuses to dramatize their displeasure over the decision of the President and the lawmakers.
The Conditional Cash Transfer Program, on the other hand, was assailed for being a doleout to the poor. Many lawmakers stated that the big money involved could be put to better use like putting of school buildings, libraries or conduct of livelihood and vocational training and microfinance of as low as P500. It was also criticized because the outlay was lumped under the Department of Social Welfare and Development, the agency that usually gives out doleouts.
As it turned out, the national government budget passed both chambers of Congress, with little amendments. For one, the budget’s P148.2-billion fresh allocation for new public infrastructure spending was seen as driver of employment growth. There’s also some P526 billion for the salaries and benefits of government workers. Budget Secretary Florencio Abad also pointed out that  the 2011 budget significantly invests in poverty reduction, with the social services sector receiving the lion’s share of 34.1 percent of the budget, a 16.8 percent increase, which is the highest gain among sectors. Abad also said the GAA for 2011 is the first budget with transparency and accountability provisions integrated under the zero-based budgeting (ZBB) approach. Under this ZBB approach, the government could reduce or terminate funding for projects or programs which are ineffective, inefficient or fraught with leakages, and to expand funding for those which are well performing and are critical for development.
 With an approved budget, the government now will have to exert all efforts to raise the money covered by the appropriations. But judging from the not convincing performance of its top revenue-collecting agencies – the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs – the government will have to work overtime and make the collections efficient or come out with other sources of revenues. And when it has the money, it should make sure that it is spent wisely to benefit the taxpayers, the people, and the country.