Sen. Manuel Villar Jr., who sponsored the money measure as finance committee chairman, said they decided to take away P4 billion from the outlay to keep this year’s budget deficit down.
He acknowledged, however, that the reduction is small since the deficit is projected to reach P197 billion.
Sen. Ralph Recto said by cutting the budget, he and his colleagues are sending the message that the administration should take all measures necessary to reduce its expenditures and raise additional revenues to bring down the deficit.
"We have to have more funds for development and job creation, because at the end of the day, what is important is people have incomes," he said.
He said there has to be a more creative way of managing the budget since more than 80 percent of it goes to "mandatory expenses" that both the executive and legislative branches of government cannot touch.
Nearly a third of the outlay, or about P270 billion, goes to payments for the country’s debt, another third to government salaries and 11 percent to local government units. Less than 20 percent goes to maintenance and operating expenses and capital outlay, including infrastructure.
Senate President Franklin Drilon and his colleagues did not make good their threat to scrap the P9.3 billion budget of the Department of Transportation and Communications and give it just P1.
But Villar said they did reduce the DOTC outlay by P1 billion because of the agency’s questionable purchase of patrol vessels for the Coast Guard worth P3 billion and illegal realignment of funds.
He said a Senate-House committee will reconcile the two chambers’ versions of the budget next week.
The Senate took only four days to approve the budget.
Presidential and vice presidential candidates among senators have not been attending their sessions since Congress reconvened last week.