Despite the allegations of misuse of the PDAF, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad has declared that the PDAF would stay in the 2014 budget. He said some P27 billion in PDAF is in the budget. He added that the PDAF stays until there is a decision by the President on the investigation of the funds misused. According to Abad, the PDAF went up from P24.8 billion this year to P27 billion, or by P2.2 billion, next year. The P2.2-billion increase would go to the pork barrel allocations of additional House members whose number has gone up from 202 to 292. Abad did not say anything about the increase of the President’s special purpose funds. In an article reported online in InterAksyon, Briones discussed three reasons why the 2014 budget is prone to misuse. One reason, special funds don’t go through the same rigorous examination as those allocated to various agencies and departments. In summary, of the total expenditures of P2.268 trillion for 2014, only the budgets of the departments and agencies, totaling P1.162 trillion, have details which can be examined lengthily by Congress. The balance, a total of P1.106 trillion—including the special purpose funds of P310.047 billion (programmed) and P139.9 billion—doesn’t go through the same rigorous examination as the departments and agencies. This explains why “I consider this budget vulnerable,” Briones said. “Another source of vulnerability is the fact that the Constitution allows the President to transfer funds in the Office of the President. @ AMANDO DORONILA INQUIRER
Posted on: Sat, 24 Aug 2013 07:49:32 +0000