Groups oppose 'insertions' in proposed P2-T budget for 2013

MANILA, Philippines – Budget watchdogs vowed yesterday to oppose “vague and hidden” provisions in the proposed P2.006-trillion national budget for 2013 amounting to nearly P300 billion.

Social Watch Philippines (SWP) and the Alternative Budget Initiative (ABI) said in a statement that they are currently investigating insertions in the proposed expenditure plans that are “unfamiliar” and “not visible.”

“We have to be more vigilant as the P2.006-trillion proposed 2013 appropriations is the first budget proposal to exceed the P2-trillion mark,” SWP lead convenor Leonor Briones said.

“More than half of the budget continues to escape scrutiny because of the special purpose funds, automatic appropriations and unprogrammed funds,” she said.

The group issued the warning as the House of Representatives is expected to end committee deliberations on the proposed budget this week.

Briones said the proposed 2013 spending plan is 10.5 percent higher than 2012 budget and almost 21.9 percent higher than the 2011 General Appropriations Act.

The SWP and ABI is a network of a hundred non-government organizations globally acknowledged for initiating legislator-citizens partnership in formulating and lobbying for alternative budget proposals for the national budget.

Briones asked the Aquino administration to explain suspicious budget items under the column “Special Purpose Funds,” including what she described as the sudden spike of the Retirement Benefits Fund from P34.4 billion in 2012 to P98.7 billion for 2013.

“Have significant numbers of government employees, civil servants and military personnel retired all at the same time? What is the rationale for this?” she asked.

The SWP and ABI also sought an explanation for the P22.4-billion Priority Social and Economic Projects Fund for 2013 when there is a P56-billion budget for the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), of which around P48 billion goes to the controversial conditional cash transfer program.

“Why do we have a budget for Budgetary Support to Government Owned and Controlled Corporations (GOCCs) when there is already an allocation for Budgetary Support to Government Corporations?” Briones said.

“What is the use of the Debt Management Program fund when we already have allocation for debt service?” she asked.

The group also wanted an explanation on how the P22.4-billion allocation for Priority Social and Economic Projects Fund, which is a new budget item, will be utilized.

“Aside from these special purpose funds, the public needs also to be informed of the P117,548,371 proposed budget for unprogrammed funds for 2013. When approved, this will be included in the General Appropriations Act,” Briones said.

The group also alerted the public “to guard budget items that do not reflect the entire picture such as ‘Personal Services,’ which may only reflect salaries of regular government employees and not include fees for contractuals, casuals, project staff, as well as consultants; or ‘debt service,’ which is reflected in the budget but is equivalent only to interest payments and does not include payment for principal.”

“The administration owes it to the people to explain every single centavo because government money is raised from taxes contributed by citizens, including the poorest of the poor,” Briones said.

“It is our duty as Filipino citizens to investigate how public funds are being managed by the government. Likewise, it is the moral obligation of the administration to be very transparent on where it puts people’s money,” she said.