EDITORIAL - Waiting for a new budget

Amid the rising election fever, lawmakers, most of whom are expected to seek re-election, should be reminded that they still have work to do. The most urgent is the passage of the 2010 national budget, which has not yet reached the bicameral conference committee. After a break for the observance of All Saints’ Day, lawmakers are going on another weeklong break, this time for the filing of certificates of candidacy.

There is no reason for lawmakers to be distracted from their work once they become official candidates in the 2010 elections. As soon as they formally declare their candidacies, they are covered by election laws against premature campaigning. The official campaign period does not start until early next year. That should leave enough time for the two chambers of Congress to pass the 2010 General Appropriations Act.

Why is enactment of a new GAA important? Apart from wasting the efforts of the agencies that have painstakingly prepared budget proposals for their 2010 operations, a re-enacted budget can delay the implementation of new government projects and programs. A new appropriation is needed particularly for the reconstruction of many areas devastated by recent typhoons and massive flooding. That task has not been programmed into the 2009 appropriation, and assistance from foreign donors is likely to fall short of expectations.

A re-enacted budget also allows the Office of the President to declare old appropriations for already completed projects and activities as savings, which the OP can then use for other purposes. Such discretion over a large amount of public funds can be prone to abuse, especially in an election year, and especially at the hands of an administration with a dismal track record in transparency and accountability.

If legislative allies of President Arroyo sit on the proposed GAA, other lawmakers should press for its approval. Members of the merged Lakas-Kampi-CMD have started moving to other parties, and the ruling party is losing its majority in Congress. It should be easier for members of other parties to press for the passage of the 2010 budget.