Updated March 14, 2009 12:00 AM [ philstar.com ]
MANILA, Philippines - President Arroyo has signed into law the P1.414-trillion national budget for 2009 that will boost public spending to cushion the effects of global recession.
Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr. said Mrs. Arroyo did not veto the P50-billion cut made by lawmakers on debt service payments, from P302 billion to P252 billion, but vetoed their attempt to reclassify interest payments as new outlays from automatic appropriations.
Andaya said this year’s budget, signed as Republic Act 9524, directs resources to activities, which will spur the economy, create jobs, build infrastructure and increase social services.
“It will be targeted for spending that will address present concerns while investing for the future,” he said.
This year’s outlay of P1.414 trillion is P188 billion bigger than last year’s authorized level of P1.226 trillion.
Andaya said the government is targeting a deficit of P177.2 billion, which is “still within the manageable range of 2.2 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).”
The increase in spending, he said, was borne out of the belief that “we cannot save our way out of an economic slowdown, we can only spend our way out of it.”
The need to provide the vulnerable social protection takes precedence over the satisfaction of turning in a balanced budget scorecard, he said.
By agency, the biggest recipient of this year’s budget is the Department of Education, with an allocation of P158.2 billion or P20 billion more than what it was programmed to receive last year.
The Department of Public Works and Highways got P130 billion, 37 percent or P35.2 billion higher than its 2008 appropriation of P94.7 billion.
The third biggest recipient is the Department of the Interior and Local Government, which includes the Philippine National Police, with a budget of P63 billion, up by P9.6 billion from last year’s allocation.
Rounding up the top 10 recipients are Department of National Defense (P56.5 billion); Department of Agriculture (P41.2 billion); Department of Health (P27.9 billion); Department of Transportation and Communications (P25 billion); State Universities and Colleges (P22.8 billion); Department of Agrarian Reform (P13.1 billion) and the judiciary (P12.6 billion).
Contrary to speculations, Andaya said the P10 billion economic stimulus fund was not vetoed by the President. – Paolo Romero
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