Budget chief says work on 2007 outlay proceeding as scheduled

Even as Malacañang officials and lawmakers of both chambers of Congress continue to quarrel over cuts in the proposed 2006 national budget, work on the 2007 outlay has begun and is proceeding as scheduled, Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr. said yesterday.

Andaya gave assurances that the executive branch would cooperate and lobby for the early passage of the 2007 budget to prevent further delays in the approval of the General Appropriations Act next year.

Senators alleged that running the government based on the previous year’s appropriation would allow President Arroyo to realign funds for her own political purposes.

Malacañang, however, stood firm in its decision to push for the passage of the P1.053-trillion budget, calling it the "most pro-poor" appropriations bill in Philippine history.

"The Senate must choose between the people or politics," Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said yesterday. "The message is clear. As far as the budget is concerned, it’s all or nothing."

Bunye emphasized that the P64-billion budget cut the senators want would seriously affect the lives of people as the cuts were mostly on social services.

The President said in an earlier radio interview that she would veto the 2006 budget if it was passed with P64 billion in cuts. She insisted specifically on the restoration of the P8-billion pork barrel funds for local government units, comprising the P5-billion Kilos Asenso Support fund and the P3-billion Kalayaan sa Barangay Fund program.

Mrs. Arroyo stressed the proposed cuts were the counterpart funds of local government allotments for various social projects to uplift the lives of the poor.

Critics, however, claimed Mrs. Arroyo was merely buying the support of local government officials for her administration’s initiative to amend the Charter and thwart a possible second impeachment attempt against her.

Andaya affirms that the administration has always been firm in its position that the 2006 budget should be passed, rather than run the government on a reenacted budget.

"We should not acquire the habit of reenacting the budget. As much as possible, no budget should have an encore," he said.

According to Andaya, the 2007 budget is now being hammered out by government agencies to present it in time for the President’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) in July.

Andaya said Mrs. Arroyo would meet her constitutional duty of submitting next year’s budget, either on the day she delivers the SONA, or within the next 30 days.

"As of the moment, literally thousands of government employees are doing overtime work to rush the document before the SONA," he said.

Based on the 2007 budget preparation calendar, agency budget proposals for the next fiscal year should to be submitted June 5. — With Aurea Calica, Sandy Araneta