Senate may cut P9.3-B DOTC budget to P1

The Senate threatened yesterday to reduce the 2004 budget of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) from P9.3 billion to just P1.

On the fourth day of plenary debates on the proposed P864 billion national outlay for this year, Senate President Franklin Drilon criticized DOTC Secretary Leandro Mendoza for his "cavalier" treatment of the budget-enactment process.

He said Mendoza has failed to explain why his department purchased P3 billion worth of patrol vessels for the Coast Guard from Australia last year without an appropriation for the purpose in the 2003 outlay.

Besides making the purchase without an appropriation, the DOTC also realigned nearly P900 million to make an initial payment for the vessels, he said.

"That is likewise not allowed by our rules on spending taxpayers’ money," he added.

In addition to the P3-billion purchase, Drilon and his colleagues are seeking explanation from Mendoza on why his agency failed to collect at least P1 billion from big telecommunications companies representing payment for "leased" telephone lines.

Drilon said they have been seeking the explanations since November last year when these issues came up in budget hearings.

He said he would recommend that the DOTC budget be reduced to P1 unless Mendoza comes up with satisfactory explanations today.

"We will not upset our schedule and delay the approval of the 2004 outlay just because of this DOTC problem. We will perhaps give them P1," he said.

The Senate is scheduled to approve the budget measure today.

The DOTC budget came up for plenary discussion on Wednesday but was reset for yesterday morning.