House mulls budget cut

With a revenue shortfall this year, the House of Representatives may cut the P801 billion national budget which Malacañang intends to submit to Congress next week.

Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr. (Lakas-NUCD), chairman of the House appropriations committee, told reporters yesterday the government may have to start operating in January on this year’s budget.

Andaya said this year’s revenue collection targets "appeared to have been plucked out of thin air," prompting the administration to scale them down thrice.

"If we have enough reason to believe that this is also true with the 2003 figures, then we will have to do something about them and the budget," he said.

Andaya said Commissioner Rene Bañez of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) admitted as "unrealistic" the collection goal set for the agency by the Department of Finance.

"We want to see the details of their projections, particularly the revenue estimates," he said.

Andaya said he expects a long-drawn process in passing next year’s proposed national budget

"We might take up to February next year to finish this budget since we have to examine in detail the projections to make sure that they are reliable," he said.

For next year, the BIR is expected to collect P467 billion, while the Bureau of Customs would generate P107 billion in revenue, Andaya added.

On the other hand, Misamis Oriental Rep. Oscar Moreno (Lakas-NUCD-UMDP), chairman of the House economic affairs committee, said the P801-billion national budget for next year would have to be balanced with "what we have" in terms of revenue. –Jess Diaz, Cecille Surte Felipe